Zootopia: The After
by Sckav
Summary: With the case of the night howlers solved, the dynamic duo of Nick and Judy have started to get used to police life together. A series of mysterious vandalizations has led the two cops on chase together to catch the criminal who did it. They'll have to overcome prejudice and make new friends in an adventure that spans all over Zootopia. My personal take on a sequel to the movie.
1. Chapter 1

-Chapter 1-

It was a cold, quiet night in Zootopia's Savannah District. The cool, refreshing breeze blew through the spaces between the densely packed tenement houses. There were only a few lights on at this hour of the morning, with most of the animals having been asleep for hours already. The only store still open was the 24-hour convenience store on the corner of the avenue, which hadn't seen a customer in nearly an hour. In the pitch black everything seemed completely still, save for the wind. Only one figure could be seen moving, his masked face and gray fur only being illuminated under the light of the streetlight for a brief moment before disappearing again into the night.

The raccoon continued walking along the sidewalk in the shadows. He had become adept at sneaking around the streets, lurking during the day and becoming almost entirely invisible during the night. Being a nocturnal animal, he had always preferred to take care of things under the veil of the moon, being the most natural time for him to go about his business. Tonight, however, he was not sneaking around anywhere. Tonight he had something else to take care of, he reminded himself. He was surprised at how quiet the street was. Normally, in such a large city, sirens or cars honking could be heard anywhere and everywhere, but for some reason, the raccoon found himself walking along in silence. The wind gusted again, causing him to shiver in his thin sweatshirt that he had decided to wear. It had been such a long time since he had been here, yet he still remembered where nearly everything was and which alleyways were shortcuts to his destination. As he came up to the corner of the street his footsteps stopped. He looked inside the small store, the same as it was since the last time he visited. As he stared into the store, the raccoon felt the air around him start to weigh more, which was followed by a twinge of gut-wrenching nostalgic sadness inside his heart. It was almost too much for him to be back here, staring at the very shop he had once visited daily.

 _No, I'm strong, I can do this_ , he reminded himself.

He wasn't going to lose to his emotions again. After somewhat regaining his composure, he began to walk again, rounding the corner and continuing for another block before he stopped again, the scene still undisturbed.

Glancing upward, the raccoon began to inspect the building. It wasn't as lively now as it had been when he last saw it. The flower boxes in the windows were in bad shape, and the paint was beginning to come off the face of the building. He felt his emotions returning as he looked at the barred up door and broken steps, except this time he was unable to contain himself. Tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his furry mask, landing on the faded welcome mat. He thought that this time maybe he would be able to muster enough courage to keep himself together, but it was not the case. He had failed again, the lingering memories of his past still able to overpower what he had become.

* * *

As the door slammed shut, the officers of the ZPD instinctively stopped their chatter and turned the focus to the front of the room. Chief Bogo took his place at the podium, and began to give out the day's instructions.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down," he said in his usual, authoritative demeanor. "We've got a few items of business today. Nothing terribly exciting, I'm afraid, but it's got to be done, so let's move forward."

Nick Wilde sighed internally. It had been a week since he had joined the force after solving the case of the night howlers alongside the bunny who was now his partner, Judy Hopps, and since then nothing of real interest had come up. He knew that every day wasn't going to end up being a high speed chase on a runaway train car as it had with his first case, but Nick still was itching for at least something more dangerous than merely patrolling the streets as he and Judy had been for the past few days. Nevertheless, he still found the position at the ZPD to have more redeeming qualities than that of popsicle hustling, so he stuck it out, hoping that maybe today would be the lucky day when he actually got to do something.

"Wilde!" Bogo yelled, clapping his hooves in front of Nick's eyes, "Stop staring off! I'm giving you your assignment."

"Oh, sorry." the fox replied, "your voice is so captivating sometimes, I can't help myself."

The officers in the room snickered.

"Very funny, Wilde. Anyways, as I was saying before you stopped listening to me, you and Hopps are going to be visiting Savannah Central taking care of…"

 _Please not patrol duty please not patrol duty_ , Nick thought to himself.

"Patrol duty," Bogo finished, followed by an audible groan from Nick. "That's all of the assignments. Dismissed."

The officers filed out of the room, heading out to perform their daily tasks. Reluctantly, Nick followed suit, holding the door open for Judy.

"I can't believe we're on patrol duty again, Carrots," Nick said as they walked out of the room. "I mean, we have all of these animals in Zootopia and you're telling me none of them are committing crimes? I don't believe it."

"That means that we're doing a good job," Judy said. "And besides, there are worse things than patrol duty that we could be stuck with, you know."

"Like being a meter maid?" Nick joked, earning a smirk from the rabbit.

"Or, you know, popsicle hustling."

"Hey now, popsicle hustling is a noble profession. I used to know someone who did that for a living."

"Yeah, I used to know someone like that too," Judy said, "and they were anything but noble."

"Okay, so maybe they weren't all that noble," Nick admitted, "but I'll bet they were fiendishly handsome."

"Oh stop it, you dumb fox."

Nick grinned as they went out to the police cruiser together. Judy hopped into the driver's seat, as she always did when they went out on patrol. It wasn't Nick's inability nor his willingness to drive the vehicle that kept him from being behind the wheel, but rather the fact that the driver's seat was specifically suited to a bunny. The ZPD had gotten the cruiser specifically engineered for Judy after she had exposed Lionheart and found the missing mammals, not considering the fact that she might have a partner who would be alongside her. In the end, it probably worked out for the best, as Nick knew better where to look to find shady activity than Judy did, and sitting shotgun allowed him to keep a closer watch.

The day went by relatively quickly. There was absolutely nothing criminal going on, not even speeding. The two of them decided that it would be a good chance to catch up on all of the paperwork they would have to do. Eventually, they both grew tired of watching cars go by and decided to take their lunch break.

"Let me guess, you're getting some lettuce with a side of carrots from that shop over there," Nick said, pointing to a food cart that was advertising typical prey foods.

"C'mon Nick, I can branch out sometimes," Judy replied. "This is just not going to be one of those times."

Nick grinned. They had only been partners for a little over a week, yet he already knew her so well.

"Well, I guess I don't call you Carrots for nothing. Now, as for what I'm going to eat..." he looked around the food court, trying to decide what looked the most appealing. An attractive, seemingly new shop caught his eye. "I think I'm going to try that place," Nick said, pointing out the shop.

"That new place? Why there?"

"I don't know, it looks interesting," Nick shrugged.

"I mean, I guess," Judy said confusedly. Her parents, while they didn't pass down many of their tendencies, still had raised her with a very basic, albeit very satisfying, bunny diet, and as a result she never had really felt the urge to explore other areas of the food world. Nick was more adventurous, being willing to try nearly anything regardless of what it looked like. He loved berries, unlike most predators, and wasn't picky when it came to what type of meat to eat.

In spite of this, Nick still wasn't sure about whether or not the food would be good. As he got closer he was able to make out the sign. MIN ROJ PESH: _The Best Alimandish Food in Zootopia_.

 _Ah,_ he realized, _it's a foreign place._

Most animals in Zootopia, including Nick, had vaguely heard of the city of Alimand before, or knew where to find it on a map. In terms of population, it was in the same tier as Zootopia, but that was about all that they had in common. The Alimandish people spoke a different language, had a different culture, and lived vastly different lives from those in Zootopia. Though new advances in technology had made it easier for people from the two regions to connect, the fact still remained that they were separated by thousands of miles of ocean.

Nonetheless, Nick was not intimidated by the idea of trying something new. Looking over the menu, he was surprised to find that nearly every item had fish in it. A certain dish—fried salmon with a special Alimandish sauce— caught his eye. After waiting in line, he stepped up to the counter.

"Hi, could I get the fried ray-ba? Is that how you say it?"

"Close, but it's actually pronounced rib-a. Anything to drink?" the cashier asked him.

"Just a small Petsi."

"That'll be $6.50 total. Enjoy your meal." Nick handed the jaguar the money and went off to meet Judy again in the cruiser.

"What is that?" Judy asked, upon seeing what Nick had ordered.

"Fried riba," Nick said, correctly pronouncing it this time. He opened up the plastic pack of utensils that came with his meal hand began to eat. As the food entered his mouth, he tasted a blend of herbal spices mixed into delicate sauce that complimented the fibrous fish meat perfectly. "Wow," Nick said, stopping in between words to chew his food "I don't know that much about Alimand," he swallowed, "but I know that this is probably the best thing I've ever tasted."

They finished eating their meals together and went back out on patrol, both feeling better about the day having the satisfaction of a good meal.

* * *

"Welcome everyone," Clawhauser said to the next group of guests. "My name is Clawhauser, I'm the receptionist here and for the next hour, your tour guide of the facilities here at the ZPD. So, before we begin, is there anyone that needs to use the bathroom?" Clawhauser waited for a moment to allow the visitors to respond. "No?" Okay then, let's get going! You'll see over here we have the newly added gift shop, where you can purchase some ZPD memorabilia once the tour is done. We sell a lot of things in there, including t-shirts, posters, mugs…"

The raccoon slowly stopped listening to the cheetah, his words fading into the background. So this was it, the headquarters of the Zootopia Police Department. It was a fairly nice building, relatively new and up to date with state of the art equipment. He was impressed by how orderly the building was. It seemed as though everything was running as a well oiled machine, from what he could see.

 _Right_ , he remembered, _I've got to stay focused if I want this to work._

"Now on your right, you will see the briefing room. This is where all of our officers get their assignments for the day, as directed by the police chief."

"The police chief? Will we get to see him today?" a small zebra asked Clawhauser, clearly excited to be taking the tour.

Clawhauser bent down to make eye contact with the child. "Aw, aren't you a cute little fella? What's your name?"

"I'm Beth!"

"Nice to meet you, Beth! Are you excited to see the police department?"

The little girl nodded.

"I'm terribly sorry for disrupting the tour, sir," the zebra mother said. "She's rather adamant about becoming a cop when she gets older."

"I assure you, it's of no issue, ma'am. Here, take this badge, sweetie," Clawhauser said, giving the small child a sticker that was a replica of the ZPD badge. "Now you can be a real police officer."

"A real police officer?" her young, bright eyes lit up, beaming with excitement. A series of "aww"s emerged from the crowd.

"What do you say to the nice cheetah, Beth?" the mother urged her child.

"Thank you!" Beth said, clearly ecstatic.

The rest of the crowd was overcome by the cuteness of the child, but the raccoon, standing in the back of the group, felt a sense of pity for the young zebra. He had been exactly like her at one point, still excited about dreams that he wanted to chase. He sighed. That had been a long time ago. Since then the world had hardened him, crushing his spirits, like it did with so many other animals. And he suspected that this zebra would grow up to be no exception.

"Alright folks, now we're going to be heading upstairs. If you'll just follow me, I'll now show you where all of the offices are," Clawhauser began slowly moving up the steps, each step being more and more taxing on his body. By the time he had reached the top, he was practically gasping for air. "If...If you'll all just..give me…give me a minute to catch… my breath."

Once Clawhauser had recovered, the rest of the tour went on as expected, with the cheetah showing the guests how things ran, first showing them Bogo's office, then the break room, all the while throwing in interesting tidbits about the ZPD. The tour conveniently ended where it had started —at the gift shop— in what was undoubtedly an attempt to get the animals to empty their pockets.

"Alright, that's the end of our tour, folks. Thanks for coming to see the ZPD!" Clawhauser said, as charmingly as ever. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask!"

The visitors all dispersed, some heading in the direction of the gift shop, others exiting the building or heading to find the bathroom. Clawhauser was standing alone, watching over the group, trying to make sure that they were all content. He was getting better at doing this with each tour that passed. Ever since the night howler case, the ZPD had become somewhat of a tourist destination, and people at city hall thought that it would be a good idea to capitalize on the demand to learn more about the ZPD by offering tours of the headquarters. Clawhauser, of course, had been happy to oblige as a tour guide, his friendly personality a natural fit for the role.

Out of the corner of his eye, Clawhauser noticed that the raccoon that had been in the back of the group was now approaching him. He was wearing a comfortable navy blue hoodie, and a pair of typical faded blue jeans. He was slimmer than most raccoons, who had the reputation to be on the bulkier side. His fur was well kept,

"Hello, sir," Clawhauser said. "Can I help you?"

"Hi zhere," the raccoon said, "I had a question about zhe ZPD."

 _God_ , the raccoon thought, _I forgot how bad my accent is._ He had always been self-conscious about how bad his accent was, making him nervous while speaking.

"Sure thing! What's your question?" Clawhauser asked.

"I was just coorious, you know," the raccoon started, trying to appear confident despite his accent, "are you guys friends to zhe animals at city hall?"

Clawhauser paused contemplatively, before answering, "We at the ZPD have a good relationship with the folks at city hall. We both try our hardest to work to serve the people of this city, which means that we naturally get along well."

"Hm. Interesting. Well, zhank you for your time, you deed a great job on zhe tour," the raccoon reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollar bills. "Consider zhis a tip."

He handed the bills to the cheetah, who accepted them gratefully. "Why thank you, sir," Clawhauser smiled.

"Of course," the raccoon said, adding, "Have a nice day." He started walking towards the exit, thinking about how he was going to execute the plan that he had devised. Knowing that city hall and the ZPD were on good terms was a good sign for his plan, as he needed them both to cooperate if it was all going to work. If things went accordingly, his life was going to be very different in a few days.

As he opened the door, he noticed a certain bunny and fox coming towards the building.

"You first, offizhers," the raccoon smiled as he held the door open for Nick and Judy.

"Thank you, sir," Judy smiled back as they walked through the door. Nick began looking around the room, and noticed the larger number of visitors than usual.

"Hey Clawhauser," Nick said, causing Clawhauser to turn around to face him "you know anything about what all of these visitors are doing here?"

"It's part of a new touring service that we've decided to do. People come in and look around the place and buy merchandise. You know," Clawhauser added, "you two made this place pretty famous after that last case."

Judy sighed. "I guess that taking down top level of government officials will do that, won't it?"

"Yep," Clawhauser acknowledged. He started heading back to his desk, tired from being up on his feet for the past hour. "I wish I could be as cool as you two sometimes. Think of it, in the field, punching the bad guys away as they try to tackle you and inject the night howler serum, karate chopping Bellwether in the face..."

Nick smiled. "It was exactly like that," he said. "Except you're missing one key detail."

Clawhauser, surprised, asked, "What detail?"

Nick beckoned for Clawhauser to lean in closer. "All of the bad guys…" Nick whispered, "were ninjas."

Clawhauser's face lit up in awe. "Woah...ninja sheep, are you serious?"

"Stop messing with him, Nick," Judy said.

"Aw, why did you have to ruin the joke, Carrots?" Nick asked sarcastically. "I wanted to see how long he would believe it."

The rabbit rolled her eyes. "Anyways, we were wondering if you have any new leads for us on any of our cases."

"Let me check," Clawhauser said, pulling up the database files on the cases that Nick and Judy were assigned to. "It doesn't look like there's anything here, unfortunately."

"Darn. Alright, thanks for the help Clawhauser, we'll see you later," Judy said.

"No problem. I'm always here if you need me," Clawhauser replied, instinctively pulling out his phone as the conversation ended.

"I really hope we get some new leads soon," Judy said as the two of them walked away from Clawhauser's desk. "I'm sick of patrolling."

"You and me both, Carrots," Nick sighed. "You and me both."

* * *

 **Hey everyone! After watching Zootopia, I completely fell in love with the characters, and decided to imagine my own story for them. I'll be adding chapters fairly regularly. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated :D**


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

"You're watching Channel 5, where WCZP is bringing you all of the latest from around the city and around the globe. Now, for a special report from reporter Marsha Hornston."

"Good morning everyone. We have breaking news on a fresh story today. This time it's coming from the city of Alimand," the doe reported. "This just in: a crowd of over three thousand animals has gathered outside of the Alimandish capitol building, peacefully protesting the unfair discrimination against predators. Police have been sent to ensure that the protest does not turn violent. This is all coming not two weeks after the night howler case was uncovered in Zootopia, a major conspiracy that attempted to make predators into second class citizens. We have reporter live at the capitol building. Dean, how are things looking over there?"

"Not good, Marsha," the focused switched over to the other reporter, a polar bear. "It's a pretty tense atmosphere that's been brewing for some time now. For decades the city has been segregated into predator and prey districts, but only now are the animals rising up and taking a stand. These predators that we see here protesting...they're frustrated that they've been kept from living in the nicer districts of town, which have been historically reserved for prey, among a long list of other issues"

"Dean, you say that there's a long list of issues..." the reporter in the studio asked, "exactly how segregated is Alimand on the whole?"

"Well, to give you some idea... Predators and prey aren't allowed to go to the same schools, and predators can't work for businesses run by prey and vice versa. It's a system that really favors prey over predators, as often the city officials neglect the parts of the city where predators live, as only prey can run for office. And that's just the tip of the iceberg."

"So, what exactly are these predators asking for? And are they justified in doing so? What do you think, Dean?" Marsha asked.

"Well, they simply want everything to be desegregated, and to have the same opportunities as prey" Dean said matter-of-factly. "You see, Alimand has very different demographics than Zootopia. In Zootopia, 90% of the population is prey, but here, some estimates put it as low as 45%. So I would say yes, it is rather odd to see a city divided, literally and metaphorically, in half."

The raccoon shut off the TV. He could only tolerate so many news reports before being enraged about the political state of his former country. He and his parents had moved to Zootopia when he was seven years old, and after eleven years of living here, he had grown incredibly fond of the place. While it had its own struggles with prejudice and discrimination, it wasn't even remotely comparable to what was occurring in Alimand. His parents had been lured by the Zootopian model of "anyone can be anything," and had decided to try to make a better life for them and their child.

He got up from the kitchen table where he ate all of his meals, and washed off the dishes he had used to eat his breakfast. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was 6:50 AM.

 _Crap,_ he realized. _I have to open up the store in ten minutes._

The raccoon lived on the second floor of a two-story building on the outskirts of Tundratown. Originally, it had been abandoned, but he had put some hard work into it to make it somewhere liveable. It was a rather small living space, only having one room, but the raccoon didn't mind in the slightest. He had everything he needed. The kitchen area was small, no more than a few cabinets, a sink, and his TV, but it was very functional nonetheless. He slept on top of a small mattress in the corner, and had a separate bathroom with a shower and toilet. On top of the table, was his most prized possession, a scrapbook his mother had made for him that contained photographs of him as a small raccoon.

He would look over the scrapbook every night, reminiscing about how great things were back when they had just arrived in Zootopia. Back then things were simpler, and he wasn't quite as cynical about things as he was now. His parents tended to all of his needs, and all he had to focus on was going to school. His fondest memories all came from this time, memories of his mother reading to him at night, and his father teaching him how to properly cook a fish. Every time he flipped through the book he would go back to these times, providing him a sense of reprieve, if only for a few minutes. Of course, that wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy his current life, but he still sometimes wondered what would have happened if things had stayed the way they were.

The raccoon quickly washed his face, and tidied up his fur to make himself look a bit more respectable. Then, as the clock ticked over to 6:57, he headed over to the ladder in the corner of the room that lead to the first floor of the building, where he did his daily work. Being the sole employee at a cafe was difficult, but the raccoon found it a welcome challenge. He quickly glided down the ladder, and began preparing to open. The cafe was rather quaint, but it had a nice homey feel to it. The raccoon set all of the tables in the cafe and quickly put on his apron before finally flipping the sign to read "open" instead of "closed" just as the clock dinged 7:00 am, and the raccoon knew that meant he had approximately two minutes before his first customer arrived.

As the clock ticked from 7:02 to 7:03, as if on cue, the raccoon's first customer walked in.

"Rico, friend, how are you?" the raccoon greeted him as he had done every day for the past year or so when Rico had first visited the cafe. He came inside and sat down at one of the stools in front of the counter.

"I'm doing well, Etson," the otter replied. "How about you? Same old, same old?"

"Yes, just trying to keep zhings under control here as uzhual," Etson said. "Will you be having your regoolar today, Rico?"

"Sure," Rico responded. "Lovely weather we've got here, ain't it? Absolutely love this time of year."

"Zhe snow is always so gorgeous in this part of town," Etson said while preparing Rico's coffee. His paws whizzed around the kitchen, mixing various liquids together and adding certain herbs into the concoction to give it more taste. "Here you go. One _deuvor_ , specially flavored, all ready."

Rico grabbed the mug, and started to take a sip. "Mhmmm…" Rico said as the beverage began to warm up his insides. "I don't know how you do it, but I swear every single time you get the mix perfect."

"What can I say, I am good at what I do," Etson laughed heartedly.

"I love starting out every day like this," Rico admitted, "there just aren't enough places like this anymore where you can get good, local service."

"It is more rare now, zhat is for sure," Etson said. "When I first came to Zootopia, my mother would always take me to zhis local ice cream place near our house. Went out of business last year."

"Sounds about right," Rico said. "Big corporations are taking over everything nowadays."

This was the best part about Etson's job. He knew every customer inside and out, from when they would likely arrive to what they would order. Over the years he had accumulated a small, but loyal group of customers that all loved the local charm that the cafe had.

"Take care, Rico," Etson said, waving goodbye, "and good luck on zhat presentation today!"

"Thanks Etson!" Rico waved back, and exited the shop. It was 7:12 now, Rico's visit taking exactly ten minutes yet again. There were, of course, the odd customers who would hop in after coincidentally being in the area, but even these animals usually ended up becoming regulars. He would chat with them for a few minutes while they drank their coffee, and then he would send them on their way. Some customers, like Rico, were so reliable on their timing that Etson even knew when they would enter and when they would leave.

Which is exactly how Etson planned on capturing the most wanted criminal in Zootopia.

* * *

The sun was shining down on Savannah Square, glistening off of the central fountain that could be seen in the center of the plaza. There were crowds of animals all throughout the square, some of them visiting shops, others just chatting with friends. Among them was Judy Hopps, who was skillfully weaving a bicycle through the crowds of animals. As a reward for solving the night howler case, she had seen her pay increase to the point where she could now afford a nicer apartment that was closer to work, meaning that it was more convenient to bike than to take public transport. Like most mammals, she had learned how to ride a bicycle from her parents when she was young, but it was only now after about a week of practice weaving through alleyways that she felt really confident in her riding abilities. She exited the square and continued her route to work, handling skillfully through the streets. She eventually reached the headquarters, where she chained and locked her bicycle to the bike rack.

"Nice riding, Carrots," Nick said, seeing the rabbit secure her bicycle. "How come you never drive like that when we're patrolling?"

Judy took off her helmet and started heading inside.

"There's a slight difference," Judy replied, "between maneuvering a bike and a police cruiser."

"So what I'm hearing," Nick poked at Judy, "is that you're not good at maneuvering the police cruiser?"

"That's pretty big talk from someone who doesn't even know how to ride a bike."

"To be fair, I don't ride a bike on patrol for a few hours every day."

"To be fair," Judy pointed out, "neither do I."

Nick grinned. "Touché."

He loved the little conversations they had. Judy was the only animal he had met who consistently one-upped his comments, forcing him to think of new ways to poke at her. It was nice, after fending for himself for so long, to finally have someone he could playfully banter with.

Judy placed down her bicycle helmet in one of the storage lockers, and then the two partners walked into the briefing room, just as they had the day before.

"Do you think that we'll have anything actually interesting to do today, Carrots?" Nick asked earnestly.

"That depends," she replied, "on whether you find patrol duty interesting."

"You and I both know the answer to that question."

The door at the front of the room swung open, and Chief Bogo walked in, taking his place at the podium.

"Good morning, everyone. We've got more business to attend to today, so let's not waste any time doling out assignments," the chief said. "Manus and Hoover...are going to be in the rainforest district on patrol duty. Tailer and Ware are patrolling Tundratown..."

Bogo continued through the list as usual, assigning all of the officers to patrol different parts of the city. It appeared as though Nick and Judy were in for another day of catching up on paperwork in the police cruiser, if the trend continued.

"Hopps and Wilde..." Bogo started, having gotten to the bottom of the list. Nick and Judy looked at each other, both of them with their fingers crossed. "We have a scene for you to investigate."

The two of them looked at each other, and gave a celebratory high five. "Are you serious?" Nick asked, "There's actually something for us to do?"

"Don't get too excited, you two," Bogo said, noticing how the two partners' moods had changed, "It's just a vandalism case. Your job is to figure out who did it and why. Clawhauser will give you your case file. And seeing as that's all of the assignments for today, you are all dismissed."

The officers funneled out of the room and headed for the police cruisers just as they had the day before, excluding, of course, Nick and Judy, who headed for Clawhauser's desk.

"I don't think I've ever been more excited for a day of work, Carrots," Nick remarked, "which is odd, considering I'm supposed to be the negative one."

"Enough days of patrol duty will make anyone lose their sanity," Judy said, the two of them now at Clawhauser's desk. Clawhauser had his back to the two officers, leaning over to put some papers into a

"Hey Clawhauser, how's it going, pal?" Nick asked charismatically.

Immediately, Clawhauser turned around to face the voice that called for him. "Nick, Judy, hey there! What's up?"

"I hear that you have a case file for us to take care of today," Judy said.

"That I do, let me just pull it out for you," Clawhauser said, foraging through his desk. "I swear it was here somewhere...maybe I put it...Ah! Here you go. One vandalism case file," the cheetah extended the file to Judy, adding, "Must be nice to have a break from patrolling, huh?"

"You have no idea," Judy replied, accepting the folder from the cheetah. "Thank you, Clawhauser."

"Any time," he said, smiling. "Good luck on the case!"

The two of them waved goodbye to Clawhauser, and headed for the police cruiser, where they would review the case file. After walking through the police lot, Judy unlocked the car and they both clambered in. She opened up the case file, and the two partners began looking over the info together.

"Okay," Judy said, scanning over all of the data. They had no real leads to go off of other than photographs of the scene and whatever was left at the site of the crime. "So it looks like the vandalism was directed at...some shop in Sahara Square."

"I know that place," the fox said, looking over the pictures of the store. He knew practically everyone in Zootopia from his time as a popsicle hustler, which came in handy more than once as a police officer. "It's run by Edvin Klosen. It's a small bakery that sells really good scones."

"Hm. Well, I guess we the best option that we have is to go and check it out then," Judy suggested. "At some point we should also talk to Edvin, to see if there's any other leads we can get."

"Sounds good," Nick agreed.

Judy started up the car, and shifted into reverse, and turned on the radio, ready to back the car out of the police lot. She put her paw on the gas, but to her surprise, the car didn't budge. The rabbit started frantically looking around the dashboard, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"You forgot about the parking brake," Nick reminded her, smiling slyly as he put his aviators on. "What would you do without me, Carrots?"

"I would have figured it out," Judy retorted, "just like any other animal."

"You know, I almost considered letting you try to figure it out yourself," Nick admitted, "just to see how long it would take you."

She punched him in the arm jokingly and drove out onto the road in the direction of Sahara Square.

* * *

Etson set up the secret security camera in the same spot he had for the past few days. The camera itself was the same size as a coin, making it very easy to hide. It had resulted in his bank account taking quite the hit (almost a month's worth of wages), but the function the device performed was vital to his plan. The camera had to be small enough that he could place it in a hidden location without anyone noticing it, which eliminated the the traditional and inexpensive security cameras from the equation. If the person he was trying to catch got any signs that he was being monitored, Etson would be in deep trouble.

Before the customer of interest could arrive, he nestled the cam inside one of the potted plants at the back of the cafe, angling it just so that it could oversee the activities of the cafe without being disrupted by the foliage of the plant. He would need to retrieve it afterwards, as the camera could only hold twenty minutes or so of footage before filling up. If all went according to plan, after today he should have gathered enough evidence to reasonably lead the ZPD to apprehend the criminal. After setting the camera up, he quickly went back and assumed his position behind the counter, ready to serve the customer.

The bell on the door rang, signalling someone had walked in through the door. Exactly as Etson had expected, the customer was Omar Moufflon. He had arrived within five minutes of three o'clock in the afternoon every day for over two weeks now. When Etson had first met him, he had no idea that Omar was remotely involved in any kind of shady business. He had introduced himself as Joe Wooldruff, a local plumber who had just moved into the area. That was the day after Bellwether had been arrested, along with everyone else involved with the trafficking of night howlers. For any normal animal, this would have been insignificant information, but in the case of Joe Wooldruff, it was a huge clue as to what his actual identity was.

"Hey, Etson, how are you doing?" the sheep known as Joe asked.

"I'm doing fine. How about you?" Etson asked, "I know zhat you said you had a difficult client, no?"

"Yeah, he was being a real pain," Joe said, completely unsuspecting of Etson's plan, "Hate having to work with people like that."

Etson nodded. "You want your regoolar?"

"Maybe add a little something extra to it this time," Joe requested, "I've still gotta deal with this guy after my break."

"You got it." Etson got to work, and began making the coffee as per requested.

After about a week of interacting with him, Etson had started to become suspicious of whether Joe was who he claimed he was. In talking with him, Etson picked up on a few hints about Joe's actual past, including the fact that he once had done "an important job for someone at city hall." In another one of their conversations, Joe had accidentally revealed that his father's last name was Moufflon, which he quickly tried to explain away rather unsuccessfully.

"Thanks dude," Joe said, taking a sip. "As good as always, and with that extra kick. I gotta hand it to you, you're good," he said.

The day after Joe had slipped up on his last name, a news report came onto the TV about the criminal Omar Moufflon, who was wanted for being one of the primary distributors of the night howler serum. They gave more details about him, including a portrait and the fact that he had a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it on his left arm. Etson matched the faces almost instantly, and when he talked to the sheep the next day he saw the tattoo that had been mentioned on the news, confirming the shop owner's suspicions.

Reaching his hand into his pocket, Joe took out some dollar bills to pay with. "Here's your cash, keep the change."

Etson looked down at the amount, and noticed that he had tipped close to fifty percent of the cost of the drink. "I can't take zhis, it is too much."

"It's my treat," Joe replied, taking another sip of the drink.

"You are very generous, sir," Etson said, gratefully. "I zhank you."

This was of course, not to say that Joe hadn't tried to conceal his identity. He had dyed his wool, and almost always wore a bandana that covered part of his head. He had gotten comfortable around Etson, however, as so many customers did, resulting in the various slip ups. But once the connection had been made, there was no way that Etson was simply going to let an opportunity of such a large scale slip through his paws. The raccoon immediately began hatching a plan to catch Moufflon so that he could collect the reward money, which was a hefty sum, seeing as Omar was the most wanted criminal on the ZPD's list.

Joe finished his drink, and left. Strangely, Etson almost felt bad for how he was going to betray the animal. He had always tipped well, and seemed like a genuinely good person from the conversations that he had with him.

 _What am I saying,_ Etson snapped himself back to reality. _He worked with Bellwether._ _He wanted all predators to become second class citizens, including me. He deserves what's coming to him._

He waited until the coast was clear, and then he went to collect the camera. He had gathered enough evidence over the past few days to now to show a pattern in Moufflon's visits, meaning that he could reasonably present his findings to the ZPD. Now all he had to do was email it and wait for the police department's response. Still, Etson remained uneasy. He had thought through this plan thousands of times in his head, including every way which it could possibly fail, and what he would do in every scenario, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety. If things went well tomorrow, his life was going to be very different, hopefully for the better.

 _And if I fail?_ Etson asked himself, followed by a shudder. He quickly pushed the idea out his mind, reminding himself that everything would be fine. _I'm not going to fail, everything will go according to plan._

At least that's what he told himself.

* * *

 **Chapter 2 is out! Had a snow day on Monday, so was able to really get some work done on the story. The main point of this chapter was to develop the characters a little bit more, so it would be easier to really get the plot rolling. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

The police cruiser drifted through the intersection, the small rabbit at the helm rapidly turning the wheel and trying to control the vehicle.

"Why didn't you tell me to turn left before the intersection came up again?" the rabbit questioned the fox, who was supposed to be giving her directions. "You said that you knew where we were going."

"I do know where we are going," Nick defended himself, "but I don't completely know how to get there."

Judy sighted. "Pay more attention please," she said, annoyed, "I don't want to be on the news tonight for crashing the cruiser."

"I'm sure it will happen at some point, Carrots," Nick said in his usual sarcastic tone. "Might be better if you get it over with now."

"There are so many problems with that statement I don't even know where to start," Judy replied, trying to keep her eyes on the road. The vandalized bakery was supposed to be around here somewhere, according to Nick. Then again, he could be completely off, as he had been with the directions multiple times already. She wondered sometimes whether or not he was intentionally giving her unreliable directions so that he have an excuse to keep calling her a bad driver. It wouldn't be the first time Nick had messed with her for his personal enjoyment. Granted, Judy did reciprocate Nick's pranks sometimes, but the fox was almost always the perpetrator of the foolery.

"I think this is it," Nick said. He had taken off his aviators and was now examining the picture of the building from before and comparing it to what he was seeing on the street. "Yep, this is the one."

Judy pulled over and parked on the side of the road. She put her coins into the parking meter, inserting just enough to give her and Nick exactly one hour to investigate the scene.

"It's kind of -"

"That better not be a meter maid joke," Judy cut him off, preemptively guessing what he was going to say. "You don't mean to tell me that you were going after the low hanging fruit, were you?"

Nick blinked, caught slightly off guard that she had predicted what he was going to say.

"Wow, Carrots," he said, "I see that I'm finally rubbing off on you."

She winked at him, causing the fox to smile, before she turned to face the building that they were here to investigate. A large part of the store's face had been charred, and all of the windows had been smashed. The building appeared to have been lit on fire, as many of the baked goods were now nothing more than piles of ash.

"So, what do you think happened here?"

"Someone probably got bored, if I had to guess," Nick said, taking a closer look at the site. "It looks like they were a pyro, too, if these ashes are any indication."

"Do we have any security cam footage of what happened?" Judy asked.

"Nope. Edvin decided against buying any, apparently. So all we have is what's here and whatever Mr. Klosen can tell us."

The two of them started to walk into the building, being careful not to step on any shattered glass. Gingerly, they went deeper into the store. All of the shelves that had previously held the wares were now knocked over and slightly charred. The counter the employees used to stand behind was located behind the shelves, along with the kitchen where they made the fresh food. Just to the left of the counter, there was a seating area with a few tables and chairs that had all also been knocked over. A vending machine had been toppled and smashed as well, its glass scattered across the floor. The partners looked around, trying to find any clues as to what may have happened. Judy put on some plastic gloves, and began searching through the the piles of items on the ground.

"Wait a minute," Nick said, his eyes darting around the room, "where is the cash register?"

"It could be in the wreckage," Judy said, "if not, we might have the motive of the crime."

They began overturning everything, looking for signs of a cash register among the disaster.

"I don't see anything here," Judy said after a good few minutes of thorough searching.

"Hey, Carrots, check this out," Nick yelled from across the room. Judy quickly hopped over to him. "There's one more room we haven't seen yet."

"The bathroom? What could possibly be in there?"

"I dunno," Nick shrugged. "You wanna do the honors?" Nick motioned to the door.

The rabbit placed her paw on the doorknob, slowly turning it, revealing the bathroom.

"Wait, what?" Nick remarked, upon seeing the bathroom. "What is this?"

There were three large, spraypainted letters that covered the entire wall opposite of the door, with the paint even going over top of the mirror and the sink. Aside from that, everything was as to be expected from a typical retail store bathroom.

"P.P.P.?" Judy read the letters on the wall aloud. "What is that supposed to mean?" She looked around the room again. "Look Nick, the cash register!" She pointed to the corner of the room, where, surely enough, there the cash register was, sitting atop the toilet completely unharmed.

"There's a note here, too," Judy exclaimed, grabbing a sticky note that had been placed on the register. "Here, you read it," she said, handing the note over.

Nick cleared his throat, and began to read the message. " _I seek not the wealth nor possessions,"_ Nick paused before reading the next line, " _I only want to open their eyes. - P.P.P."_

The two partners looked at each other, processing what they had just read. "I think our criminal is very...poetic, to say the least," Judy commented. "If I had to guess, based on this," she grabbed the note from Nick to look it over, "I think our suspect is trying to be some sort of vigilante."

"Or he's some crazy anarchist," Nick said, "not that there's a difference, really."

Judy took out the notebook she had used for all of her cases, along with the trusty carrot pen she always wrote with. She started scribbling down details about what they had seen. She never looked at the notes afterwards, but nonetheless Judy found that writing everything down helped her think about possible pieces of the puzzle. "What do you think P.P.P. stands for?" she asked Nick.

"Hard to tell, really," Nick replied. He searched his brain trying to find any connections to anyone he had met, but it was difficult to find correlations. For one, he didn't know many last or middle names, nevermind the fact that oftentimes he only knew people's street nicknames, which often didn't match up to their real names. "It doesn't ring any bells, but if it might be their initials or the acronym of some group they belong to or something."

Judy tapped her chin with her pen, as she always did when contemplating. "Well, I can't think of any connections right now, so I don't see any point in sticking around here."

Nick nodded in agreement. "We've searched everything, and we have some idea as to what the motive was."

"Alright," she folded up her notebook and put it with her pen in her back pocket. "Back to HQ it is, then."

* * *

The clock hit 9:00pm as the last customer of the day walked out of Etson's cafe.

 _Another day in the books,_ Etson thought as he changed the sign in the window from reading "open" to "closed." He wiped down all of the tables and the main counter, grabbed the money he had earned that day, and climbed up the ladder to his living quarters. He went over to the safe that he kept, and stored the various dollar bills inside. The safe had been virtually empty ever since Etson had purchased the mini security camera.

 _It was an investment,_ Etson reminded himself. _The prize money will pay it back a thousand times._

He took the camera out of his pocket, and pulled out his old laptop from underneath his mattress, blowing the dust off of it. He hardly used the thing on account of how old it was and how little time he had on an average day. It still ran Minnows 5, three editions behind the modern Minnows 8, and hardly could do anything without crashing. Nonetheless, it sent email and allowed him to upload files, which was all Etson really needed. He opened up a tab of Zoogle Chrome and opened up his email account. The files were too big to attach via email, so he would have to use Dropfox and link them in the email. The raccoon started typing up what his intentions were, noting any information that would be crucial for the ZPD in making the arrest. He checked through for any grammatical mistakes, desperately hoping that he hadn't forgotten any rules of Zootopian sentence structure. Fairly confident, and equally as terrified, he clicked on the send button, emailing his plan to the officers. He let out an exasperated sigh, and shut the laptop. What happened now was out of his hands.

* * *

Nick yawned as he hopped out of his bed. He had gotten pretty used to his morning routine as a police officer. He would shower, put his breakfast in the microwave and let it heat up while he put on his uniform. Nick then would take his food out of the microwave, and turn on the TV while he ate.

"With general elections two months away, the race for Mayor is heating up," the news anchor said, "Today it was announced that llama candidate Marcus Camelid would suspend his campaign, on account of his sinking numbers in polls across the city, leaving only our two frontrunners, giraffe Tory Ossicone and koala Frederick Fasco, both of whom emerged as potential candidates after the night howlers case. Polls are relatively even between the two candidates despite their very different campaigns."

"It will certainly be interesting to watch," another news anchor chimed in, "that's for sure. In other news, interim Mayor Pawleen -"

Nick changed the channel, trying to find something more appealing to watch. He didn't care at all for politics, having an inherent distrust for those involved in government. Politicians were the only animals he had ever met that were better at conning people than he was, which was certainly saying something.

After channel surfing for a few minutes while he ate, Nick finished his meal. He washed the dish he had used, grabbed his wallet, keys, and sunglasses, and headed out.

He walked out into the hallway, passing doors of his apartment neighbors. He reached the end of the hallway, where the elevator and stairs were located.

 _Out of order?_ Nick read the sign on the elevator, groaning. He lived on one of the top floors of the building, which meant that he was going to have to go down more flights of stairs than he wanted to. He slowly trudged over to the staircase, and started his descent. A good two to three minutes later, Nick finally reached the bottom.

 _That better be fixed by the time I'm back from work,_ he thought, annoyed. _Because there's no way I'm going to climb that again._

Normally, Nick was very happy with where he lived. It was within walking distance from work, and the apartments were reasonably spacious. They also had a workout area, which Nick made use of on the weekends when he wasn't working. He stepped outside of the building, and walked along the sidewalk. A few blocks later, he had arrived at the police station. Usually he was able to time it so that he could catch Judy on her way in, but the elevator problems had made him later than usual. Nick walked into the briefing room where all of the other officers were, taking his seat in the front row next to Judy.

"Hey Carrots, how was your -"

The door swung open, and Chief Bogo walked in, cutting off Nick. "Alright everyone, listen up," Chief Bogo said, quieting the room down. "You all know the drill, so I'm not going to waste any time."

He went through the list of names, just as he had done the day before, finally coming to Nick and Judy. He turned his focus to the rabbit and fox. "You two, did you find anything that we can use to convict whoever vandalized that shop?"

"Negative, sir," Judy replied. "We're going to get more details from some witnesses and nearby shop owners today so that we can catch whoever did this."

Bogo looked at his clipboard, flipping through the assignments one more time. "I think...that sounds like a go-" the back door of the briefing room burst open, the entire room turning around, their eyes fixed on the scene.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, Bogo," Clawhauser said, the officers all staring at him, "but I have something I think you'd like to see."

Chief Bogo looked at the cheetah inquisitively, taking off his glasses. "What is it, Clawhauser?"

"We have a strong lead..." Clawhauser said, pausing to allow his words to his words to sink in, "...on Omar Moufflon."

Chief Bogo's eyebrows immediately shot up in surprise. "Omar Moufflon?"

"Yes, sir," Clawhauser confirmed, "the one who was trafficking the night howlers."

The chief stood in silence for a minute, calculating what to do next. This was now their top priority. Catching Omar would mean a huge boost in public opinion, not to mention ending the possibility of him trafficking more night howlers. This could be the only lead that they got, and he needed to make sure that they didn't blow it.

"Officers Hopps, Wilde, Fangmire and Delgado... you're going to stay here," Bogo announced. "Everyone else is dismissed."

* * *

The four officers, Bogo, and Clawhauser were now alone at the reception desk.

"Alright, Clawhauser," Bogo said, "show us this new lead you have."

"It's all here in this email I got this morning, sir" Clawhauser said, turning around the monitor so that Bogo and the others could see. "It links to compelling video evidence on Moufflon's whereabouts, and gives a precise guide on when to apprehend him."

"Do we know who this email is from?" Officer Delgado asked.

"It comes from the email address _cafesienno_ ," Clawhauser replied, "but that's all we know. He's sent us five separate clips of Moufflon entering his store and staying there for an extended period of time. Apparently he's a regular there."

"Can we see the clips?" Bogo asked. "I want to know if this is legitimate or not."

"Sure," Clawhauser clicked on the links that led to the video files. "This is Monday..."

The videotape clearly showed a sheep entering the cafe, saying hello to the shop owner, and sitting down to order his drink at precisely 3:02pm.

"He stays there for about seven minutes," Clawhauser said, fast forwarding through the clip, "before leaving at 3:10pm."

"What about the other clips? Are they all like this?" Judy questioned.

"Exactly the same," Clawhauser answered, adding "The shop owner is the one who sent the email, and he says it would be extremely easy to catch him if we showed up as he left the shop."

"How do we know that this is Moufflon?" Bogo said, still skeptical that apprehending the most wanted criminal in the city would be _this_ easy.

"The famous tattoo he has on his arm is visible in the recordings," Clawhauser said, adding, "The shop owner, who sent the email, also reportedly got him to slip up on his identity during some of their conversations."

The officers looked at the screen, trying to find any other holes in the evidence that they would need to reasonably apprehend Moufflon.

"So we just show up at three o'clock at this shop and catch him?" Judy asked, staring in disbelief. "It's almost too good to be true."

"Which means it probably is," Nick said, shaking his head. "There's gotta be something we're missing here. Wanted criminals don't just fall into animal's laps like this."

"You may have been good at avoiding police activity, Wilde," Bogo pointed out, "but not everyone is as sly as a fox."

"He has a point though," Judy said, defending Nick's perspective, "Why would anyone with that big of a target on their back regularly visit somewhere?"

"Maybe he just makes really good coffee," Officer Fangmire suggested. "I mean think about it, what's the worst case scenario if we do show up?"

Officer Delgado nodded in agreement. "I say we stake it out the next couple days and see if he comes. Ideally, we capture him, and if not, it's just a couple days down the drain."

"So what's the verdict going to be, Bogo?" Judy asked, "Do you think it's worth trying out?"

Bogo stroked his chin contemplatively. "I think that there's at least some info we can get by visiting this cafe, so I'm going to be sending the four of you to check it out this afternoon," the chief ordered. "Hopps and Wilde, I want you to be inside the cafe at the time our criminal is due. If you see him and can confirm that it's Moufflon, you should be able to arrest him on the spot. Delgado and Fangmire, I want you to wait outside the cafe, filming the incident from the outside. If stuff hits the fan, I expect you two to provide assistance. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir," the four officers said in unison.

"Then you are dismissed," Bogo said. The four officers began to disperse when Bogo suddenly turned around. "Oh, Hopps and Wilde, I forgot to mention one more thing."

Judy and Nick turned around. "Yes, chief, what is it?" Judy replied.

"Try to see if you can get in contact with those witnesses for the vandalism case before you have to assume your post at the cafe," Bogo said, "I want whoever did this arrested within the next week. Are we clear?"

"Yessir."

"Good. That's all."

Judy saluted the chief, with Nick following suit after he saw his partner. They then turned around, and started walking towards the evidence room. It was time to make some phone calls.

* * *

"Zhank you, and have a nice day," Etson waved goodbye to another customer. He grabbed his water bottle, and took a sip. He had been trying to maintain his friendly personality to everyone who came into the shop, but on the inside he was plagued by anxiety. Ever since the ZPD had responded to his email this morning with the plan of action for apprehending Moufflon, he had been struggling to keep his composure.

The clock hit 2:30pm, and a fox and a rabbit walked into the store together, trying not to draw unwanted attention. The fox was dressed in an untucked pale blue button up shirt and a striped purple tie. The bunny was dressed a bit more casually, wearing a simple white t-shirt with a flower decal in the middle and dark blue jeans.

The fox stepped up to the counter. "Hello. What do you have for specials today?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

Etson looked around his surroundings, checking to make sure that nobody else was in sight. "Tomato soup," he finally answered, remembering the code word from the ZPD reply.

The fox, upon hearing the correct reply, extended his paw to the shopkeeper. "Nick Wilde, ZPD officer," he introduced himself. "And this is my partner, Judy Hopps."

"Pleased to meet you," Judy said.

Etson shook their paws. "My name is Etson, owner of zhe Cafe Sienno. It is my pleasure to meet you."

"So you know the plan, right?" Nick asked, wanting to be sure, "Do you have somewhere we can hide?"

"Yes, and yes. If you'll come behind zhe counter," Etson said, quickly opening up the gate that allowed them behind the register, "you two should be able to hide up zhere." He pointed up to the second floor of the building.

"Perfect," Judy said. "Thanks for your help with this case, sir. If all goes well, you'll have been a huge help."

"I do what I can," Etson shrugged. "Could I get you two anyzhing to drink? On zhe house, my treat."

"Oh, you don't have to -"

"No, no, I insist," Etson persisted. "What would you like?"

"Well, if you insist," Judy replied, looking over the wide varieties of beverages, "I'll take an _alvoursh_."

"Ah, zhat is one of my favorites. Good choice," Etson said, "And for zhe fox?"

"Surprise me," Nick grinned, as he climbed up the ladder with Judy. They were surprised at how much stuff there was up on the second floor, especially considering how small the cafe had looked from the outside of the building. It reminded Judy of her first apartment when she moved to the big city, small but cozy nonetheless.

"Do you live up here, Etson?" Judy asked, raising her voice a bit so she could be heard from the first floor.

"I do," he answered, preparing both of their drinks. "I spend my day down here and my nights up zhere."

"How long have you lived like this?" Nick asked him.

"Seven years," Etson replied. "I get by nicely, lots of loyal customers who come to zhe shop."

"Wait, you said seven years?" Nick said, scratching his head in confusion. "How old were you when you opened this place?"

"I was only eleven years old when I came to zhis place," Etson answered. "All I had was five hundred dollars and zhis abandoned building. Zhat was it."

Judy gawked in disbelief. "You were eleven when you found this place? And you made it into all of this?"

"Yes," the raccoon said. "I used zhe money to purchase basics for running zhe place. Zhe rest is history, as zhey say." He climbed up the ladder, balancing two of the mugs in one paw. "Here are your drinks. Enjoy."

"Thanks," Nick and Judy said in unison.

"No problem. I will be down here when our customer comes. You should be able to hear him come in."

Etson climbed back down the ladder and assumed his post, the time now being 2:38 pm. Nick and Judy remained upstairs, lying in wait to catch Omar. The two of them sat on the ground near the ladder, with Judy taking a sip of what Etson had given her.

"Mmmhmm..." Judy said as she swallowed. "He doesn't mess around with his drinks, does he?"

Nick took a sip, and was overwhelmed by the perfect blend of flavors mixing in his mouth. "I think I taste blueberry," Nick said, in awe at how good the drink was. "How did he know I love blueberries?"

"Secrets of the trade, I guess," Judy said. As she took another sip, she couldn't stop thinking about what Etson had said. Alone at age eleven...she couldn't imagine how she'd fend for herself in that situation. What would she eat? How would she find somewhere to stay? She looked over at Nick, who was staring at his phone. He had been alone since age twelve, meaning that he must have been in a situation similar to Etson. Despite how close they were, Nick had never really shared any details about his past, other than what he had told her about being bullied. She knew he had always been a good talker, but it still must have been difficult to get by alone.

"Say cheese, Carrots" Nick said, taking a selfie of him and the rabbit. She smiled and made the peace sign as he snapped the photo. He always took selfies any time they were on a major mission, which Judy didn't mind, as it lightened up the mood and eased the pressure of trying to capture a major criminal. It also made for a good scrapbook of the memories that they had shared together.

Suddenly, the bell downstairs rang, signaling that a customer had come into the cafe. Judy immediately perked up. Her large ears allowed her to listen in on the conversation below.

"Joe! How are you today!" Etson said, heartily.

"The bird is in the nest, I repeat, the bird is in the nest," Judy whispered into her radio.

"Roger that," Delgado responded. "We have secured the exit, over."

"We are advancing on the target. Engaging, over."

Judy quickly slid down the ladder, clutching with her tranquilizer gun. "Freeze!" she yelled. "Omar Moufflon, you are under arrest!"

Omar's face instantly shifted from one of contentment to one of fear. "Judy Hopps! What are you doing here?"

Nick slid down the ladder, also holding onto his tranquilizer. The door flew open, and the other two officers showed themselves, one of them holding a video camera.

"Put your hands up, Omar! We have you surrounded."

Omar started to yell in rage. "Etson! You betrayed me! Espirem tez soufersh, mamihosha!"

Etson looked at Omar, disgusted. "First of all, zhat is not even how you say that," the raccoon retorted. "Second of all, watch your language!"

"You are all fools, all of you! We were going to bring sweeping progress!" the sheep yelled.

"Can it, fluffy," Nick replied, clearly ticked off. "If you or Bellwether had half a brain, we could have avoided this mess altogether. Now, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way."

"You can do whatever you want to me! I'll be a martyr, a hero of the people!"

"Uh-huh. That's what Bellwether said too, and look how it's turned out for her," Nick said calmly. "So, I'm going to ask you again, do you want us to drag you out of here like the screaming toddler you are, or are you gonna be a big boy and walk out yourself? Your choice."

"I will tear you apart, stupid fox! When I'm done -"

Nick pulled the trigger, his cool demeanor unwavering. "Would you look at that? It must be nap time for our little baby."

The sheep fell over, almost instantly going unconscious. "Let's take him to the cruiser," Nick said, placing cuffs on the criminal. "He should be out for the next few hours."

Nick, Delgado and Fangmire lifted him to the cruiser and put him in the backseat.

"Well," Judy let out a sigh of relief, "that went smoothly. Nice work, Etson."

The raccoon smiled, relieved everything had gone well. "Zhanks. I am just trying to serve zhe city the best I can."

"Speaking of which," Judy said, "would you care to come back to the ZPD with us in the cruiser? I know that you must be eager to collect your reward."

"Uh...would I have to, you know...share a seat wizh Omar?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry about that," Judy said. "He'll be out the whole time, like Nick said."

"Okay, if you say so," Etson replied. He wasn't sure what was making him more uneasy, the fact that he was going to be sitting next to the most wanted criminal in Zootopia, or that his life was going to change dramatically over the next couple days.

"In that case," Judy said, "follow me to the cruiser."

Etson switched the sign on his shop from "open" to "closed", took off his apron and headed after the rabbit.

* * *

 **Here's chapter 3 everyone! This chapter is pretty important to the plot later on, but there's still a good amount of action. As always, feedback is welcome! I'm always looking to improve my writing :)**


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

The door to the jail cell slammed shut, Omar Moufflon trapped inside. He was going to have to stay at the ZPD for a few days until they decided on a formal prison to move him to. In every regard, the mission had been a success. They took a potentially dangerous criminal off of the streets, preventing him from giving anyone else access to night howlers, which gave the public great peace of mind.

There had been a small celebration at the ZPD, consisting of ordering out and lounging around in the lobby. Normally, Chief Bogo would never tolerate such behavior, but tonight, he felt as though his officers had earned it. They had been working so hard over the past couple of weeks it was probably for the best if they took this time to unwind a bit. The four officers plus Etson were all sitting on the two couches by the water cooler, laughing at some joke Nick had just told.

"I meant to ask, Etson," Nick started, "when Omar started screaming at you, what did he say? I assume it wasn't nice."

"You know, zhe usual zhings," Etson smirked. "Wanting me to die, insulting my mother."

"Ah yes," Nick remarked, "the classics. What language was that, again?"

"Alimandish," Etson replied, "It's my native language, which is why I have such a heavy accent."

Etson had always felt guilty about how those around him for having to try harder to understand him, constantly feeling the need to apologize for his speech.

"Well I think that your accent is cool," Judy said reassuringly.

"Teach me how to say something in Alimandish, Etson," Officer Fangmire requested.

"Okay," Etson said, " _Malau, ci bourez?_ "

"Malau, see bresh?" Fangmire repeated, struggling with the pronunciation.

" _Malau, ci bourez,"_ Etson said again, emphasizing the parts of the words that the tiger had struggled with. "Zhat means 'Hello, how are you?'"

"Foreign languages are so cool," Judy said, letting out a sigh. "I wish I knew how to speak one."

Suddenly, the door to the break room swung open, revealing Clawhauser. "Sorry to break up the party," Clawhauser apologized. "Is Etson in here?"

"Zhat would be me," Etson said, raising his paw.

"Mayor Pawleen just showed up, and she wants to speak with you," Clawhauser said, "I think it's about the reward."

Etson's smile faded. "The mayor is here?" he asked.

"Yes, she and Bogo both are," Clawhauser replied, "Are you ready to meet with them?"

"Y-yes." Etson said, the contentment now shifting into a mix of anxiety and dread.

"Good luck, Etson!" Judy waved as the raccoon left.

As he left the break room, Etson couldn't think about anything other than his increasing heart rate. This was it. This was what was going to decide whether he collected the reward and started a new life, or...well, he didn't want to think about what would happen otherwise.

 _I've got this, I've got this,_ he repeated over and over in his head, trying to calm his nerves.

Clawhauser led him up the stairs and down the hall to an office on the right. "The two of them are in here, waiting for you," Clawhauser said. "Go in whenever you are ready."

"Thank you, sir," he replied, standing outside the door frame. Clawhauser left and went back down the stairs, trying to remember where he had seen the raccoon before, but not quite able to put his paw on it.

Pulse racing, Etson turned the doorknob. He slowly opened up the door, and walked into the room. The room itself was designed like any other office, with a desk in the center of the room. There was a large office chair on one side of the desk, presumably reserved for whoever's office this was, and two smaller chairs on the opposite side, presumably reserved for visitors. There were potted plants in the corners of the room, which Etson assumed to be plastic. He slowly shuffled his paws along the carpet and entered the room, the door closing behind him.

"Oh, hello there!" a kangaroo said from behind the desk. Etson recognized her immediately from TV as the mayor of Zootopia. "Please, have a seat," she encouraged, motioning to the open seat next to a large buffalo. Etson quickly scurried over to his seat and sat down.

"I am Mayor Pawleen, and this is Chief Bogo," the mayor introduced, "He's the head of the ZPD."

"It's very nice to meet you," Bogo extended his hoof out to Etson, which Etson quickly shook. "I just want to thank you sincerely for being such a great help in apprehending the most wanted criminal in Zootopia. The evidence you provided was invaluable to ensuring his capture."

"It is my pleasure," Etson replied, trying to mask his nervousness with a heartfelt smile. "I am happy help zhis great city."

"You have done the citizens of Zootopia a great service," Mayor Pawleen assured him, "You have our gratitude, which is why we asked to talk with you today. As I'm sure you're aware, there was quite the bounty on Moufflon's head, and seeing as you provided all of the information leading to his capture, we would like to award you with the prize money."

"Yes," Bogo said affirmatively, "The bounty was fifty thousand Zootopian dollars, all of which you are entitled to collect. So, how would you like us to complete this transaction?"

"Uh..." Etson stumbled, unsure how to answer the question. "Does writing a check work?"

"I think we can do that," the mayor replied, "Just stop by city hall sometime in the next week, and I'll make sure it is delivered to you personally. Does that sound okay?"

Etson exhaled nervously. "Yes, that sounds fine."

The mayor smiled. "Okay, that's that then! I look forward to seeing you at city hall. If you have anything else that you need, don't hesitate to let me know. You've helped out the ZPD and Zootopia as a whole tremendously."

Bogo nodded in agreement. "You have friends here at the ZPD too, if you need them."

Etson tapped his two index fingers together, as he always did when he got nervous. "Actually, zhere is one zhing zhat you could maybe help me out wizh."

The mayor raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And what would that be?"

"You see..." Etson started, now tapping his index fingers together more rapidly. "My family moved here from Alimand when I was just a zmall child, only seven years old. My fazher... he wanted a better life for our family, and Zootopia was where he decided to take us. Unfortunately..." Etson swallowed heavily, staring down at the ground, afraid of making eye contact with either Bogo or Pawleen, "...he did not come here legally. What zhat means...is zhat..." he struggled to force the words out of his mouth, "I am not technically a citizen of Zootopia."

The mayor and the police chief exchanged surprised glances with one another. Was he admitting what they thought he was admitting?

"I have lived in zhis wonderful place for eleven years now," Etson continued. "I have paid taxes on everyzhing I have for all of zhe years I have lived here. I have a zmall cafe where I serve Zootopian customers. I love zhis city wizh all of my heart. Which is why I want..."

Etson mustered up the courage to look up from the ground, making eye contact on the mayor.

"...I want to become an official citizen of Zootopia."

* * *

Downstairs, the four officers were still enjoying one another's company. All of the officers ended up getting pretty close with each other, just from being on the force together, so it was never hard to have a good time.

"So what was the most fun that you two ever had solving a case together?" Nick asked the other two officers, a tiger and a wolf.

"Hmm...The most fun case..." Fangmire looked at his partner, trying to remember all of the cases they had solved. "I think it was probably the one where we had to chase down that otter in Tundratown."

"Ooh, yeah! I almost forgot about that one," Delgado said, now remembering what had happened. "He tried to make a run for it by stealing a toboggan and sliding down this hill, so we had no choice but to sled down after him. Ah, man, those were good times."

Fangmire nodded, smiling. "The poor guy crashed into a tree too. Made him real easy to catch."

The four of them laughed, as the door opened again.

"Etson! You're back!" Judy exclaimed. "How did it go?"

Etson couldn't contain his smile. "Better zhan I could have imagined. I am going to get zhe reward later zhis week."

"That's great, bud!" Judy said, also now smiling. "You deserve every penny of it for how much you helped us."

"Aw, you're too nice. You guys did all of zhe work," Etson said sheepishly, blushing a little bit, "I just showed you where he was."

"Stop being modest," Judy said, slapping him on the back. "Listen, we're gonna hang out here together for a little while longer, if you want to join us."

Etson looked at the clock on the wall. 5:35pm. It probably didn't make sense to go back and reopen the cafe, as it would take nearly an hour and a half to get home from the ZPD using public transport, which Etson would have to use on account of the fact that he didn't have a car.

"Yeah, I like zhat idea" Etson answered Judy, taking his place on the couch next to her.

As Etson sat down, Nick got up to refill his drink. He poured more Petsi into the plastic cup, examining Etson from a distance. Nick watched as he told a joke, followed by laughter from the rest of the group. The fox sighed. Etson seemed like a really great animal, but there was something about him that Nick didn't like. After living on the streets for so many years, he had developed a talent for understanding more or less someone was like just from a few interactions with them, and for some reason, those instincts were telling him not to trust Etson. It made no sense, when Nick rationally thought about it. He had treated them extremely well when they had visited his cafe and had just caught the most wanted criminal in Zootopia. There was absolutely no basis for the mistrust he had.

The fox shook his head. _There's something that he's hiding from us, I know it._

He decided he wasn't going to think about it anymore. Besides, he likely wouldn't see Etson again after he left today anyways.

Having filled his cup, he went back to rejoin the group.

* * *

"Now arriving at Sleet Street," the robotic intercom of the train announced. "Please watch your step."

Etson stepped out onto the platform. It was darker and considerably cooler than when he had last been outside a few hours ago. He had spent a good two to three hours at the ZPD with the officers, just hanging out. Following the signs that were posted at the station, he walked down a flight of stairs before coming to street level. He started walking in the direction of home, which was a few blocks away, unable to stop smiling like an idiot.

The mayor had accepted his bid for citizenship, and she promised to give him an official passport along with the reward money. Etson could finally expand the cafe and make it into an actual restaurant, with actual staff. He no longer had to worry about concealing his identity, or cover up the fact that he was an illegal, meaning he could actually do things like open up a bank account and get his driver's license. His life was finally becoming somewhat normal, and nothing could make him happier.

He walked along the sidewalk, the sun almost completely below the horizon. His cafe was just around the corner and across the street. He was ready to go and crash after such a long day.

 _Wait a minute,_ Etson said, looking across the street at his cafe. _What happened here?_

His smile, which had been all but impossible to remove, suddenly changed to a face of pure terror.

 _No no no no no,_ Etson thought frantically. _This can't be happening._

He quickly ran across the street. As he looked up at the face of his cafe, he fell to his knees in defeat.

The windows were smashed. The tables were knocked over. The chairs were singed. Everything was gone. Seven years of determination and investment, burned to the ground in a single night. Tears started to run from Etson's cheeks. He pounded the ground with his fists, cursing violently in Alimandish. The feelings of bliss, excitement, and happiness from earlier were gone, consumed entirely by despair. He knelt there for a few minutes, unable to bring himself to do anything aside from sob hysterically. He was so close to escaping. He finally had what he needed to pull himself out of his condition. The finish line was in sight.

And then this had happened.

Etson's heart felt only emptiness. All of the efforts he had made to distance himself from others had been futile. The promises he had kept all of these years to never love anyone didn't matter, because he had fallen in love with his work. He knew that if life was going to attack him again, it was going to be directed at whatever he loved the most. Seven years ago, it was both of his parents. Tonight, it was his cafe.

 _The scrapbook,_ Etson suddenly remembered, thoughts of his family jogging his memory. _Dear God, please not the scrapbook._

He quickly got up off his knees and ran inside, climbing over the overturned tables and chairs. He rushed up the ladder, frantically looking for the scrapbook. Looking around the room, he saw that it was in similar condition to downstairs. Red spraypaint had been applied to the entire back wall. _P.P.P._ Etson was so consumed that he hardly cared about the damage. All he could think about was the scrapbook.

In a total frenzy, he unturned everything he could, desperately hoping to find it somewhere in the wreckage. Then he saw it.

Etson practically threw himself over to the scrapbook, which was lying on the floor in a charred heap. He frantically flipped through the pages, trying to see if there was anything he could salvage. Page after page, either entirely burned away or entirely black. Page after page, Etson's heart continued to sink. On the last page, there was a single image that looked to be intact. Etson practically ripped it out of the page it was attached to.

Etson knew the picture as well as any other in the scrapbook. It was a photo of his parents on their wedding day, which was almost twenty one years ago. His mother was dressed in a traditional white dress, and his father in a tuxedo with his favorite red bowtie. His father was kissing his mother on the forehead, with his mother shining her pearly smile up at him. It had always been one of Etson's favorite photos of his parents. He never would have guessed it would become the only memory he had left of them. The tears began rolling faster now down his cheeks, wettening the ashes of the scrapbook. Etson felt completely and utterly alone. His mind started racing, filling up with questions. Why did this have to happen to him? What did he do to deserve this? Why did life strangle every last bit of joy he had in him, time and time again?

One answer was that he had just been unlucky. Fate had decided to demolish the life Etson kept building up because of some random factor.

No. He wasn't going to accept that as an answer. Life had it out for him, yes, but he refused to accept that he was powerless to fate. There was still something he could do with his life. Giving up would mean admitting that he was weak, that life had gotten the better of him. He needed to take action, he needed to fix this. Life was telling him to give up, just as it had seven years ago, but Etson simply wasn't the type to quit. The more and more he thought about it, the more and more he felt the feelings of grief and melancholy slowly shift into that of resentment, then enmity, and then pure, unadulterated retribution.

He realized what he had to do. He wiped the tears from his eyes, determined not to feel sorry for himself. He felt the desire for revenge running strongly and clearly through his shattered state of mind. He put his right paw on the scrapbook, and made a vow.

 _I will find whoever did this,_ he promised himself. _And I will make. Them. Pay._

He turned his attention to the spray paint on the wall. P.P.P. They, or he, or she, or whatever those letters meant, they were the thing that did this to him. They were the ones who he was going to bring to justice.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Another chapter today, since I had a lot of free time. I know it's shorter than usual, but I wanted to cut it shorter to bring a more powerful ending. As always, please leave feedback and reactions on anything you think I can improve on!**


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

"You're watching the morning news on WCZP," a deep-voiced narrator announced, "with Marsha Hornston."

"Good morning everyone, and thanks for tuning into WCZP news this morning," Marsha said, shuffling her papers in front of her. "We plan on getting your morning started right as you get ready to tackle your work day. First up, we have a live report from Savannah Central Station, where a lion has lashed out in a train car, seriously injuring seven animals. The attacker's identity has since been to be Rémi Crocoz, an illegal Alimandish immigrant with a history of past criminal activities in Alimand. Authorities managed to neutralize him with tranquilizers as he stepped off the train, and he has been since been imprisoned for his crimes. Both major candidates for mayor have piped up on the issue, each giving separate press releases. Take a look at what they had to say."

The scene on the television shifted to a koala standing at a pulpit in front of a number of journalists with notepads. "Mr. Fasco, what do you think we should do in response to the attacks of earlier today?"

"Today we saw something terrible take place in our great city," Fasco started, "but this is what happens when you don't protect enough against those who are dangerous to our city. Look at how many predator attacks there have been over the past month. I've been saying it for a long time, we need to do more. Do you see our government doing anything to stop them? No. Can we stop these attacks? Yes."

Judy started to smirk as she watched the koala continue his press conference. Ever since Nick had told her how to properly give a press conference, she couldn't help but notice how many politicians followed his advice. _You've gotta answer your own questions,_ she remembered he had told her. And here Mr. Fasco was, doing exactly what Nick had advised. Of course, she didn't agree with a single word of what this Fasco guy was saying, but she found it funny to watch nonetheless.

"Mr. Fasco, do you care to comment on the nationality of the attacker?"

Mr. Fasco nodded contemplatively. "It's a shame, you know, that Alimand is represented this way. As much as I hate to say it, Alimandish immigrants consistently commit more crimes than normal Zootopians. That's just a simple fact. There's a lot of unrest over there, so we need to be more careful about regulating who we are trusting from their country."

Judy shook her head. _What a joke,_ she thought. It made her sad to think that so many people were buying what this candidate was selling. She hoped that after imprisoning Bellwether that the candidates who played to animal's sense of fear would disappear, but here this koala was, advocating for the same things Bellwether had been. Didn't people realize that there were more to animals than their fangs and claws? She sighed. She had no right to criticize them. After all, just a mere two weeks ago she had been carrying fox repellant around the city to protect herself from the same"dangerous predators."

 _If I hadn't met Nick, I might actually agree with some of what he's saying,_ she realized.

The rabbit shuttered. She didn't want to think about what where she would be if she hadn't met Nick.

Looking at her watch, she decided that it probably would be a good idea to get to work. Shutting off the TV, Judy walked out of her apartment and down the stairs, where she strapped on her helmet. The rabbit unlocked her bicycle, and headed off to work.

* * *

Judy took off her helmet and locked her bike to the bike rack. She took a deep breath, breathing in the clean air. She felt even more confident than usual today, having received a motivation boost from capturing Omar the day before. Ready to take on the world, she walked through the doors of the police department, entering the lobby. Immediately her attention was drawn to Clawhauser's desk, where there seemed to be something unusual going on. She noticed a raccoon and the chief having a dispute of some sort.

"Please, Chief Bogo, let me work wizh your officers on zhis case," Etson pleaded. "I promise zhat I can be of use to you, just give me a chance."

Bogo tried to remain composed, doing his best to hide that he was annoyed. "Look, I understand you are upset about the events that have transpired, and that you want to help bring whoever did this to justice, but I can't just let you join in on the investigation. You aren't a police officer."

"Sir, please, I know it's a bit strange," Etson admitted, "but I am totally committed to zhis case. I have a lot of skills and information zhat would be useful for zhe investigation."

"I'm terribly sorry, but my answer is not going to change," Bogo replied stoically. "Just because you helped us solve one case does not mean I can let you join in on this investigation. I assure you that we have our top officers working to solve this case, and that they are working incredibly hard to figure out who did this. Now, have a nice day."

"But sir-"

"Hey guys! What's going on over here?" Judy exclaimed, hopping towards the two of them.

Bogo let out a sigh of exasperation. He already knew what Judy was going to try to do. "Our friend Etson here wants to join in on the P.P.P case after what happened last night," Bogo explained. "I was just letting him know that, unfortunately, of course, he can't exactly join in on the investigation, as he is not a member of the ZPD."

"Wait, you said 'after what happened last night?' What happened last night?" Judy asked, unaware of what had occurred.

Etson focused his eyes on the ground, not wanting to allow anyone to see if he started tearing up. "You see..." he started, struggling to explain what had happened without feeling emotional, "My cafe was...vandalized...last night. Everyzhing I have...it's all gone now," he said.

Judy's face shifted from her usual optimistic smile to a frown, her ears drooping.

"It was zhe P.P.P. who did it," Etson added, his tone somber.

"Etson...I'm so sorry."

"It's okay...I'll be okay. I just..." he stuttered, having difficulty getting his words out.

"Hey, what's with the party in the lobby?" a voice said from behind them. Everyone turned around to find Nick walking into the building, approaching them. As he got closer, he noticed Judy and Etson's glum expressions. "So much for a party. Why the long faces?"

Judy turned around to face the fox. "Nick, the P.P.P. ... they got Etson's cafe. It's been completely destroyed," Judy explained.

The fox's smile faded. "The P.P.P? The same people from the shop in Sahara Square?"

Judy nodded. The group stood in silence for a moment, Nick processing what had happened.

"Wow. Talk about a nice way to start the morning," Nick remarked sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood. "Are Judy and I going to be working on the case together?"

"Ah yes, about that," Bogo chimed in. "You two are going to be working on this until the suspect is brought to justice. I'm sure that you two, our top officers, will be more than able to solve the case, which is why we don't need any help from someone off of the street, like this raccoon here," he said, staring down at Etson. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"But sir, I don't think you understand. I...I made a promise to myself zhat I would catch whoever did zhis to me. It's..." he paused, trying to collect himself. "It's all I have to live for."

Judy looked into Etson's eyes. They always said that eyes were always a gateway into the soul, and Etson was no exception. Judy could tell from looking at him that his soul was on the verge of shattering. Looking at him, she felt an aura of helplessness around him and his situation. She knew that Etson was being serious when he said that this case was all he had left to live for. He was willing to do anything for this case, and in that respect, he reminded her of herself. The unrelenting determination that he had could be found in her as well, and Judy knew how powerful of a weapon it could be, having used it many times to will her dreams into fruition. If what she saw in him was accurate, he could become an unstoppable force in bringing whoever committed these crimes to justice, which was something that Judy knew that she wouldn't find in any other animal.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Chief Bogo," Nick said, trying to express his sympathy for the raccoon. As much as Nick felt bad for Etson, there was still something about him that he didn't trust. He couldn't look at the raccoon without getting the feeling that he was hiding something. And besides, even if Etson had decided to join the investigation, what use would he be? He could tell about what happened at his shop, but not much else. "We can't just make you an officer."

"Zhere has to be somezhing I can do. I promise I won't mess up zhe investigation, I promise, I just want to help," Etson begged the officers.

Judy glanced at Etson again. She couldn't stand his hopelessness anymore. "I'll work with him."

"What?" Nick and Bogo said in unison. Etson suddenly perked up, he shoulders no longer sulking.

"I said that I'll work with him," she said again, boldly reaffirming what she had just stated. "He is a key witness who could have valuable information about the motives of the P.P.P.. Also," she said, her confidence unwavering, "if I'm not mistaken, Bogo, you need someone who is fluent in Alimandish to interrogate the lion who lashed out on that train today, and last I checked we have a grand total of zero officers who meet that criteria. Now, fortunately for you, if you decide to let our friend here work with me on this case, you would have someone who speaks both Zootopian and Alimandish fluently that would be willing to do the interrogation and translate the entire thing for free," she made her case. Nick facepawed, in disbelief at the rabbit's audacity. She was going to get fired one of these days, he was sure of it.

"So, Chief, what will it be?" Judy asked, folding her arms confidently.

"I told you Hopps, he's not an officer," Bogo repeated, very clearly ticked off by Judy's disobedience of his orders.

"And he doesn't have to be. Like I said earlier, he's a witness. He can work with Nick and me."

Nick put his paws up defensively. "I never agreed to-"

Bogo let out a loud sigh. "Fine. You can work with him," he conceded, knowing that there was no way that Judy was going to give up on this issue. He wondered why he put up with her antics sometimes. "But if anything goes awry because of him, you take full responsibility and incur the consequences. Are we clear?"

"Of course, sir," Judy replied, smiling. She had gotten what she wanted, like she always did.

"Good. Now get to work," he said, adding bitterly, "the case should be easy to solve now that you have an extra set of eyes."

Bogo left, heading up the stairs to his office. Etson turned to Judy. Hardly anyone had ever gone out of their way for him, much less risk their career on his behalf. "Zhank you, Officer Hopps," he suddenly bent down and hugged the rabbit, which caught Judy off guard. She recoiled at first, not expecting the hug, but then hugged him back once she realized what was happening. "Nobody has ever done somezhing zhat nice to me before," Etson admitted.

"You can just call me Judy. And you're welcome." Her smile widened. Moments like these reminded the rabbit why she had decided to be a police officer.

"Psst. Psst. Carrots, over here," Nick whispered, trying to get Judy's attention. She stopped hugging Etson and turned around, looking up at Nick.

"What is it?"

"Could you come here for a minute? I have to talk to you about something in private," Nick said, still keeping his voice low.

"Uh, sure," she said hesitantly, unsure about what Nick wanted to talk about. "We'll be right back, Etson."

She followed Nick to a more secluded room where nobody could hear them. Nick shut the door, not wanting eavesdropping.

"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Judy asked her partner, still not quite sure what was important enough for them to have to discuss in private.

"What were you thinking, volunteering us to work with that raccoon?" he asked her rather angrily.

"Is that what this is about?" Judy replied, trying to think about reasons why Nick might not like him. "What, do you have a problem with him or something?"

"Kind of, yes," Nick admitted, not sure how to explain his feelings about Etson. "And I thought that you would at least ask me before you went ahead and volunteered me for this."

"Nick, I don't see why this is a big deal," she said, looking at him quizzically. "Why do you have a problem with him? Did he do something to you, or threaten you or -"

"No, Carrots, he didn't say or do anything to me," he replied, sighing in frustration. "It's complicated. But I just can't work with him, okay?"

"Why not, Nick?" Judy asked. "You have no reason not to like him."

"Listen," he explained, "I've lived on the street for several years. I know when people are hiding things. And that raccoon out there, Etson, or whatever his name is? He's hiding something. I don't know what it is, or why he's hiding it, but I know that there's something he doesn't want us to figure out."

Judy looked up at the fox. "Look, Nick, as much as I respect your instincts, we're police officers," she reminded him. "He's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. That's how things work here. Can you at least give him a fair chance?"

Nick sighed. She was right. He should give Etson the benefit of the doubt, even if he wasn't doing it in good conscious. And it wasn't like he could just turn Etson away now even if he wanted to, at least not with what Judy had said. "Fine. I guess I don't really have a choice at this point, do I?"

"Not really, no," Judy admitted. She felt a little bit guilty now about being so hasty to support Etson. "I'm...sorry about this whole thing. I should have asked you if you'd be okay with it...it's just...I saw something in him, this mad determination to figure out who did it... And I guess the whole thing reminded me of when I agreed to take my first case."

Nick put his paw on her shoulder. "It's okay, Carrots," he replied. He respected why Judy did what she did, even if she maybe hadn't gone about it in the right manner. After all, her conviction and willpower, while being annoying to deal with when they disagreed, had been the thing that had brought them together in the first place. "I guess we're both a little bit crazy, aren't we?"

"Yes," the rabbit let out a hefty sigh. "Yes, we are."

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Let's go solve this case," Judy said, forming her paw into the shape of a fist.

"Let's do it." Nick accepted the invitation, fist bumping his partner.

The two of them walked out back into the lobby, where Etson was chatting with Clawhauser, who had just returned from his morning donut trip.

"Oh, zhere you are," Etson said, "Are you guys ready to get to work?"

Suddenly a voice blared from the intercom on the reception desk. "Clawhauser! Get that Etson guy and send him to the interrogation room, we have the criminal ready."

Clawhauser fumbled with the intercom, eventually pressing the button and replying. "Yes, will do."

Etson groaned. "I guess zhat means I have to go, zhen," he said. "You two get started while I am gone."

"Good luck on the interrogation, Etson," Judy said, waving goodbye.

Etson started walking towards the hallway that branched off of the lobby to the right. He felt confident about the whole ordeal, even though he had never interrogated someone. After what he had done over the past couple days, he felt like there was nothing that could slow him down. He marched onward, walking down the hallway.

"Other hallway, pal," Nick yelled from across the room.

Judy and Clawhauser laughed.

"I knew zhat!" Etson yelled back, now heading for the left hallway, where he disappeared down a flight of stairs.

* * *

"Okay, just stick to the plan, right?" Fangmire told Etson. "Just try to have a normal conversation with him, and hope that he gives you some info about the reasons behind why he did what he did. Got it?"

"Yes, I zhink so," Etson said. He exhaled loudly. He would much rather be solving the P.P.P. case with Nick and Judy, but as part of the negotiation made with Chief Bogo, he had agreed to question the Alimandish train station attacker, and this was the only time that he could actually go through with the interrogation. Bogo had assigned Fangmire and Delgado to the case, so he was taking orders from them. He was understandably nervous, never having interrogated anyone before, never mind a criminal of this magnitude.

"Alright. It's time," Delgado said to him. "Good luck."

The door swung open, allowing Etson to enter the room. The room itself was rather small - only around 10 x 10 feet - and featured a table and two chairs, one of which was occupied by a lion who had his feet chained to the floor and paws cuffed. The walls were all made from cement blocks, except for one, which had a one way glass behind which Delgado and Fangmire were standing.

"Malau, ci bourez? _"_ Etson asked as he walked into the room. _Hello, h_ _ow are you doing?_

"Prez, burem dza pol, mon fiomal _,"_ the lion replied. _Well, I'm here now, so not very well._

Etson smirked at his response, the joke helping to relieve his anxiety.

"So you're the one who they've sent to interrogate me?" he asked, continuing to use Alimandish.

"I'd like to think I'm just here to have a nice conversation," Etson replied. It had been so long since he had spoken Alimandish, but the mere fact that he was speaking it instead of Zootopian made him more confident about the interview.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" the lion said as Etson sat in the seat across from him. "I'm Rémi, but I suppose you knew that already."

"I'm Etson," he reached out to shake paws, before he remembered that the lion had been handcuffed. "Oh, right. Sorry about that."

Rémi laughed. "You're already off to a great start."

"I'm learning, you're have to cut me some slack," Etson admitted. "This is more of a side job for me."

"Really? What do you do for a living?"

"Cafe owner," Etson said, trying not to cringe as he said it. _At least that's what I used to be._ "What about you, what did you do before today?"

"Packing company," Rémi replied.

"Really? My father did that as a living."

"I feel sorry for him," he said. "We just move boxes from the facility into supply trucks. Pretty boring."

"He didn't mind it that much," Etson said, reminiscing about his father.

"Yeah, well, he probably had a family to go home to. That always makes it easier."

 _This is good,_ Etson thought. _He's starting to open up a bit about his personal life._ "You mean you don't have a family?"

"Just a wife. She's back in Alimand though. Couldn't afford to make the trip for two."

He nodded. Etson had heard lots of stories about the sacrifices people made to come to Zootopia. It was fairly common for only one member of the family to make the trip. "What's it like back there? Is it as bad as the news here makes it out to be?"

"Probably worse," Rémi replied. "From what my wife tells me, the pressure's just about ready to blow up any day, literally and metaphorically."

Etson shook his head. "I just hope it doesn't end in civil war."

"You and me both," Rémi agreed. "I just wanna get my wife outta there before it all boils over."

"Do you have enough money for her to make the trip?" Etson questioned.

Rémi paused for a second. Etson could tell he was thinking about how he should answer the question for longer than normal, which made the raccoon think he might have hit a soft spot for valuable information. "Yes," Rémi eventually answered. "She'll be making the trip in a week or so."

Etson sat there for a moment, his mind racing. Something about this whole thing didn't make sense. Why, if Rémi was as worried about the situation in Alimand as he claimed to be, did he lash out knowing it meant near immediate deportation?

"Does she know that...this... happened?" Etson asked, cautiously.

He sighed. "I don't know, depends on whether or not they play it on the news over there."

Etson decided to change the topic. He wanted to avoid asking any questions that potentially would shut Rémi off, or save them until he had a bit more info about him. "Why did you come to Zootopia?"

"I needed to escape," Rémi said. "In Alimand I was seen as a criminal. I stole some candlesticks from this silverware shop. Got caught and was sentenced to four years jail time. First offense too."

Etson gawked in disbelief. "Four years for a minor theft?"

Rémi nodded. "System there is broken. If you're a predator...well, you know. You can watch the news."

"Wow," Etson knew it was bad, but he had no idea that it was that severe. "So what happened after that?"

"I was serving my time, until around... two weeks ago," Rémi said, trying to remember the dates. "I got released."

"Released?"

"Yeah, released," the lion explained. "Ever since the protests have started, there has been a huge increase in the number of people in jail for political reasons. All the prisons are overcrowded, so they let the most minor offenders go. There was no way I was going to risk being reconvicted for anything, so I fled for Zootopia. Used my whole life savings."

 _Interesting,_ Etson thought. He decided that he had enough information otherwise about Rémi's life, assuming he was telling the truth, so he decided to finally drop the big question. "Alright, you know I have to ask," Etson started, "why did you attack those people, if you had all these things going for you?"

Rémi sighed, leaning back in his chair, folding his arms. "They started calling me out for being a predator. The car was full of prey animals, and one of them insulted me, saying that I needed to stand farther away from her, that I was a risk to her safety. I started arguing with her in my broken Zootopian, saying that I wasn't dangerous, but she kept yelling at me. The more I tried to defend myself, the more the other animals started to also jump in with her and agree with her opinion. I started shouting, and she hit me with her purse, so I punched her."

Etson looked at Rémi, studying his eyes, which were fixed on the ground. Somehow, Etson knew that what he was saying wasn't entirely true.

"The other animals then started to jump at me, so I started trying to defend for myself," Rémi continued. "I had to slash them all off of me to prevent them from tearing me apart. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I wasn't just going to let them beat me up, you know?"

Etson nodded. He was fairly confident he had gotten enough information about Rémi to be able to be able to figure out the truth of what happened. "Alright, Rémi," Etson stood up from his seat. "Thank you for the talk. Good luck with your sentence. _Mon salem."_

Etson walked out of the room, where he was greeted by Delgado and Fangmire.

"How did it go?" Fangmire asked.

"Pretty well," Etson responded. It was difficult to transition back into speaking Zootopian after speaking Alimandish for the whole interview. "I zhink I got a fair bit out of him."

"Nice. We have the whole thing recorded, so if you can just transcribe it and translate it into Zootopian we'll be good to go."

"Okay, I can do zhat," Etson said, less than thrilled. It was a rather tedious task to transcribe audio. He also was concerned that he might mess up the translation somewhere and miss some important detail of the evidence because of it.

"Perfect. Thanks for all of your help, Etson," Delgado said. "That computer already has the audio files from your interrogation on it open," he pointed to the small machine in the corner of the room. It was clearly several years old and looked to have an even older keyboard. Etson could tell it was going to be a pain to type on.

"Okay," the raccoon replied. "I will start working on zhat right now."

"You're the best," Fangmire assured him, as the two partners left the room, leaving Etson alone with the computer.

 _Alright, let's get this over with,_ he thought to himself. He opened up a simple word document, ready to write down everything that had been said. Cracking his knuckles, he pressed play on the recording and started typing.

* * *

 **Hey guys, thanks for reading! If you like the story, please favorite it or follow if you are interested in receiving updates! As always, leave a review saying what you thought and any criticisms that you have about the story so far. :)**


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

"And you said that you only saw one animal, you said?" Nick asked into the phone. He was trying to take notes on the conversation while talking, so he had propped the phone in between his shoulder and head so that he could use both paws to hold the notepad and write at the same time. "Did you happen to catch what his face looked like?... Of course, ma'am, I understand. Well, the ZPD thanks you for this information and for your cooperation. Have a nice day."

"So, any new information about our suspect?" Judy asked Nick as he hung up the phone. They both had been calling witnesses and trying to get a better idea of what had occurred at Edvin's Bakery to little success. Because it had been such an early hour of the morning there were very few eyewitnesses who could give any information about what happened. The few accounts they had also didn't give very many details, as it had been hard to see who committed the crime both because of how dark it had been and because of the mask the suspect had worn.

"Not really," Nick sighed. "She said she only saw one animal run out of the shop after it had been lit on fire. She couldn't tell what kind of animal it was, but she said it wasn't taller than three feet."

"Well, I just got off the phone with Mr. Klosen himself," Judy said. "He gave me some details about why they may have targeted his shop, but not much else. Apparently he also immigrated to Zootopia at a young age."

"What about Etson's cafe? Any witnesses at all?" Nick asked.

"Yes. They gave the same accounts as the ones at Klosen's shop, saying it was a smaller mammal wearing a mask. So we're either dealing with one repeat offender or a bunch of similar types of animals," Judy replied. "And because neither shop had a security camera, that's all the evidence we've got."

Nick sat back in his chair as he stared at a map of Zootopia, contemplating which animals he knew would do something like this.

 _Hmm..._ he thought, _obsessed with fire, vigilante, wears a mask..._

Only a few came to mind as possible candidates, but they were all either larger animals or didn't fit the descriptions that he and Judy had been given. Normally he would be able to come up with at least a few names to run background checks on, but this time he was thoroughly stumped.

There was a knock on the door. Judy hopped out of her seat and went to open it.

"Hey Etson!" she greeted the raccoon. "How did it go?"

"I have no idea," he replied, shrugging, "but I zhink I did okay."

"You showed up at the perfect time," Nick remarked, spinning his chair around to face Etson. "We're just starting to go over the details of what happened at your cafe. So, whaddaya got?"

Etson sat there for a moment. It was an awfully large question to just have sprung on him like that.

"Uhm...I'm not sure where to start," Etson replied, tapping his index fingers together. "Everyzhing was turned over and burnt on both floors of the zhe building. Zhere was red spraypaint spelling P.P.P. on zhe wall of zhe second floor. From what I've heard, it was almost zhe exact same as what happened in zhe ozher shop."

Nick stared at the wall for a moment, thinking.

"Hm. Well, you're right about it being similar to the other attack," he said. "Unfortunately, that's all we have to go off of right now."

Judy paced back and forth through the office, habitually tapping her chin with her carrot pen again. "Did you find a note anywhere when you searched the place?"

"A note?" Etson raised his eyebrow. "I searched zhe whole place twice, and didn't find any note."

"They left one at the last place," Nick said very matter-of-factly, still leaning back comfortably in his chair. "It said something about 'wanting to open eyes.' Very cryptic and odd."

"So whoever did zhis to me was some sort of poet?" Etson asked.

"More or less, yes. We think that they're some politically motivated vigilante, seeing as you and Klosen were both predators from another city, which would indicate some kind of correlation. And as to who they are..." Nick paused briefly to allow his words to sink in, "we don't know squat."

Etson crossed his arms and began tapping his foot thoughtfully. He knew that there wasn't much to go off of for this case, but he had no idea that evidence was this sparse. "Have you Zoogled what P.P.P. means? Is it at all related to criminal activity?"

"Trust me, we've gone through lots of search engines," Nick deflected the idea nonchalantly. "Only corporate websites show up."

"Well, zhere has to be paw prints zhat we can examine," Etson suggested.

"They wore gloves."

"Even on zheir feet?"

"Yes."

"What about security cameras?"

"Neither store had any."

"Traffic cams?"

"No footage on either crime."

"DNA samples?" Etson desperately spat out possible solutions, hoping that something would stick, but Nick shot them all down.

"Too many other animals in the shops to confirm that it would be the DNA of the criminal," Nick casually grinned, watching the raccoon go through the exact same process he and Judy had. "Good try though."

Etson let out a sigh, only now realizing how big of a task it was going to be. Still, he was determined not to be discouraged. "Zhe lack of evidence isn't going to stop me from solving this case. Is zhere any other information we have?"

"Well, considering the fact that they got away undetected both times," Nick replied, "we assume that knew where the traffic cams are in the city, which shops have security cameras, and when those shops would be empty," he lectured to Etson, "Basically, whoever did this did their homework."

"So how are we going to catch zhis animal?" Etson asked, his arms crossed. "You guys must have zome plan."

"Well...I don't know if I'd call it a plan," Nick confided, "but it's something. We're trying to predict where they are going to strike next, so that we can catch them. We have a couple places in mind-" Nick was interrupted by a blaring voice coming through his radio.

"Hopps! Wilde! We have a 1052 on Vapor Street!" the voice yelled. Nick's eyes widened. He suddenly sat up in his chair. Judy stopped pacing and turned around, her ears perking up.

"Get down here, pronto!" it commanded.

"1052? What's a 1052?" Etson asked, looking at Nick and Judy.

"It's the code for vandalism," Judy mumbled. "Which means..."

Nick finished her sentence. "The P.P.P. have struck again."

* * *

"Excuse us," Judy said as she, Nick and Etson pushed through the crowd of animals. A small group had gathered at the end of the avenue to see what had happened, cut off from going down the street by yellow caution tape and a string of officers around the perimeter.

"Hey everyone, make way for these two officers please," one of the guards, a rhino, asked the crowd, recognizing Nick and Judy. A small pathway emerged, the three of them walking up to the front of the crowd. Judy and Nick went first underneath the crime scene tape. Etson lifted the tape above his head and started to duck under before he was stopped.

"Woah there pal, what do you think you're doing?" the rhino asked him, towering over the raccoon.

"He's with us, Rick," Nick said, calling the rhino by name.

"Oh. Sorry about that, sir," Rick apologized, lifting the tape up for Etson to walk underneath. The three of them walked down the street towards crime scene. The street was entirely abandoned, having been evacuated by the fire department for fear that the fire that had been reported would spread to other buildings. Afterwards they had decided to keep people off of the street so that they wouldn't interfere with the crime scene.

"So, what do we know about zhe victim here?" Etson asked, itching to find some more evidence. "Zhere had to be some reason that zhey went after zhis place."

"It's a female cheetah," Judy responded, continuing to lead the way down the street, "that's all they told us."

"Another predator," Nick noticed, shaking his head. "No surprise there."

They kept walking, finally reaching the victim's house. It wasn't hard to spot which one of the homes had been vandalized. The windows had been smashed, the flower pots destroyed, and the door knocked in, making it stick out from the other similar townhouses on the street.

"It looks just like my cafe did," Etson said. He still felt sad whenever he remembered what had happened to the cafe, but he was at least able to talk about it now.

"Let's go inside and see what we can find," Judy suggested. The three of them walked up the steps.

"Wow, they were even kind enough to leave the door open for us," Nick remarked sarcastically, the door lying in two pieces on the floor. "How thoughtful."

Judy shone her flashlight around the room. It seemed like the other two incidents in nearly every way - charred couch, toppled refrigerator, broken chairs. Whoever had done this certainly had a routine that they liked to follow.

The three of them decided to divide and conquer the investigation of all the rubble, reasoning that it would likely be just as effective but much quicker. Nick and Judy took the main living room, and Etson went to investigate the office.

"Hey, Carrots, do you think that we could sell any of the stuff we find in the wreckage?" Nick asked curiously, looking around at all the furniture and various other items. "You know, hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Don't tell me that you're actually thinking about that right now," Judy replied, her voice coming from across the room. "Even as a cop, you keep trying to hustle people."

"C'mon, Carrots, you have to admit, we could make quite a bit of money," Nick argued, trying his best to sell her on the idea. "I would take all of the things I found here, fix them up, and then sell them again. I could have my own little store, it would be great," he explained. "You know what I would call it?"

"I dunno, what?" Judy responded, half annoyed, half amused.

"I would call it, wait for it..." he grinned smugly, "Nicknacks."

Judy didn't respond for a moment. "That...I don't even know what to say to that," she replied. "Was that whole scenario a setup for that pun?"

"Yes," Nick answered, seemingly proud of himself. "Yes it was."

She sighed. "At least it was an okay pun," she admitted as she continued to look through the wreckage. "But you're still a dork."

They continued moving throughout the house, looking for anything out of the ordinary among the wreckage. Seeing nothing on the first floor, they went up the stairs to the second floor.

"Let's see which room they decided to spray paint this time," Judy said, walking into the first bedroom. The sheets had been burned, but nothing else was out of the ordinary. She noticed a closed door in the corner of the room, which she presumed led to the bathroom. Slowly, she walked over and turned the knob.

Judy gasped. "Guys, in here!" she yelled. "I found it!"

Etson and Nick both quickly scurried in from the other rooms they were investigating.

"What did you-...oh my god, why would anyone do this?" Nick asked, his tone clearly disgusted. He looked around the room, shaking his head in disbelief. "I mean, just look at how terrible this is. Who ever thought that this wallpaper was a good idea?"

Etson smirked, but Judy didn't find Nick's sense of humor funny. "C'mon Nick, this is supposed to be a serious investigation, not some home buying show."

"Serious? Carrots, it's _plaid_ _flower_ _wallpaper_ that we're talking about here. Do you even understand how many rules of design that breaks?" Nick replied, apparently very passionate about the subject. "In fact, I would say that the P.P.P. spray paint on the wall actually adds to the room."

"Wait," Judy noticed something on the opposite side of the room. "What's this?" she picked a sticky note off of the wall, examining it. "It's another note..."

"Well, what does it say?" Etson asked.

" _I will make my move... the tides will turn,"_ Judy read aloud. "It's signed P.P.P."

"Ah, yes, more vigilante jargon, just what I was hoping to find," Nick complained sarcastically.

"If I didn't want to capture zhis guy," Etson commented, "zhen reading zhese notes would change my mind. Like seriously, who does he zhink he is?"

"Well, if this place is anything like the others, that clue will be the only one we get," Judy said, putting her carrot pen and notebook away, "Let's finish up here and see if we can get in contact with whoever lives, err...used to live here."

"Sounds good," Nick replied. "Lead the way."

The three of them explored the rest of the townhouse, and, unsurprisingly, found no further evidence as to who committed the crime. They walked back out the front door, which was still in pieces on the floor. They started walking back towards the crowd of animals, where there police cruiser was parked.

"I just don't get it..." Judy said, thinking through what she had seen again. "How does someone commit a crime like this in broad daylight?"

"You'd be surprised how easy it is," Nick answered. "It's not hard if you know how to properly conceal yourself."

"Yes, he's right," Etson confirmed. "All you have to do is stay in zhe shadows of zhe buildings, and zhen it's not really broad daylight anymore. Makes it a lot easier to sneak around," he said nonchalantly. His eyes widened, suddenly realizing what he had admitted to. "Not zhat I - I mean I've never, like, done anyzhing in zhe shadows, it's just that I...um..."

Nick laughed. "It's okay, pal. We won't tell anyone what you did."

"But I didn't do -"

"Shhhhh," Nick interrupted, putting his finger over the raccoon's lips. "Your secret is safe with us."

"He's just giving you a hard time, Etson" Judy said as she punched Nick in the arm. "We know what you meant."

Etson blushed, embarrassed that he had humiliated himself. He wanted to say something to try to redeem himself, but he was so flustered that he couldn't think of anything.

They had now reached the crowd of animals, who were all still waiting behind the caution tape.

"We're all clear," Judy said to Rick, who was still guarding the perimeter. Now that the three of them had been through the site of the crime, she suspected that they would allow the animals to have access to the street once again, as there was no chance of them disrupting potential evidence. They walked past the crowd and found where the cruiser where they had left it. Together, the three animals climbed back into the car.

"Where to next, Carrots?" Nick inquired, putting his aviators on as he buckled his seatbelt, riding shotgun. Etson climbed into the backseat.

Judy looked down at the screen of her phone. "Well, Bogo just sent me a text," Judy stated, "Apparently we're going to interview the victim of the attack now."

"The cheetah?" Nick asked.

"Yeah. Apparently she didn't even know that something had happened until they called her and gave her the news. She's still at work," Judy replied, reading the information off of her phone.

"Where does she work?" Etson wondered.

"478 Kapok Street, Canal District," Judy answered, "Which is where we are going to be heading."

* * *

The police cruiser pulled into the parking space closest to the entrance. They had arrived at the cheetah's workplace, which part of a large complex at the end of the street. _Zootopia Chemical Research Facility._ The building looked somewhat like a hospital, being a large, mostly glass building with a large parking lot.

Nick, Judy and Etson all got out of the cruiser, the doors slamming shut. They walked in through the main entrance of the building, where they met the building's receptionist, a deer. She was talking on a phone, clearly busy with an important client of some sort.

"Of course sir, that paperwork is right here..." she frantically looked around her desk, shuffling through a stack of papers in a blur. As she did so, she noticed the three animals standing in front of her desk. "If you'll just give me one moment, sir," she covered the phone with her hoof, turning her focus to Nick, Judy and Etson for a brief moment. "You officers are going to want to ask for Clare Accino, second floor, wing B. She should be expecting you," the receptionist smiled at them, putting the phone back up to her ear. "Yes, sir, I have the papers right here somewhere. Just give me a moment to locate them."

"Thank you," Judy replied, the deer already tearing through papers again.

"And I thought police work was exasperating," Nick remarked, watching and admiring the speed with which the receptionist worked. They followed her instructions, taking the elevator up to the second floor and following the signs that were marked for wing B. They came to a set of two glass doors, a massive plaque overhead with "WING B" printed in golden letters. The three of them walked through the door, and were greeted by a long hallway with glass looking into laboratories on both sides. On the opposite side of the hallway there was an elephant wearing a labcoat.

"Um, excuse me, do you know where we can find someone named Clare?" Judy asked the passerby.

"Third door on your right," he responded.

"Thank you, sir."

They walked down the hallway, exactly three doors down from where the elephant had directed them. Hoping that the elephant's directions were correct, Judy slowly reached up and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" the door gradually opened, a cheetah scientist standing in the doorframe.

"Hi there! I'm Officer Hopps, this is my partner Officer Wilde, and..." Judy stumbled for a moment. She didn't know Etson's last name. "...my friend Etson. Pleased to meet you."

The rabbit and cheetah shook paws.

"I'm Clare Accino, lab supervisor here at the facility," she introduced herself, taking off her safety goggles. "Please, come in and have a seat at my desk."

Doing as instructed, the three took their seats across from Ms. Accino.

"So, you have some questions for me, I take it?"

"Yes," Judy said, "but first, Ms. Accino, we just want to express how sorry we are that this happened to you. We're trying our best to figure out who did this and bring them to justice, but we need your help."

"Oh, trust me, it's no big deal," Clare reassured them, waving off what the rabbit had said. "I've been trying to sell that crappy place for over a year now, and now I finally have a reason to move out for good."

"In that case, are you alright with starting the questioning now?" Judy asked respectfully. She took out her carrot pen and notebook, ready to write down anything important Clare had to say.

"Sure thing. What would you like to know about?" Ms. Accino replied.

"Could you maybe give us a little bit of background about yourself?" Judy requested.

"Well...Let's see. I've lived in Zootopia my whole life," Clare started. Nick's eyes narrowed in surprise. The other two victims had both immigrated to Zootopia at a young age. "I grew up in the Savannah district, right around Acacia Street," Etson perked up at the mention of Acacia Street. That was two streets away from where he had grown up. "Our family...we were fairly well-off. My mom raised me at home while my dad worked an office job. Things were good. I graduated basic schooling with good grades, decided to go to college to get a degree in neuroscience, when I got an internship here. Currently I'm continuing to do post-graduate neuroscience studies while continuing to work my way up here. It's a pretty nice arrangement, and I'm happy with where I'm at."

"Pardon me, but which street did you live on?" Etson asked, adding "I happened to grow up around Acacia as well."

"We lived on Grassland Street. You?"

"Sunrise Avenue," Etson replied.

"Oh, that's neat," Clare said, nodding her head. "Now, I know that a lot of Alimandish people live in that area. Are you a part that group, or...?"

"Yes, I am," Etson said, impressed that she knew so much about his local area. "My parents were both Alimandish. We came here when I was seven."

She smiled. "So...the reason I ask is because I actually speak Alimandish," she admitted, grinning excitedly. "It was my minor in college, and I always like to practice."

"Ah, mourez i Alimanz? Taz jes ali," Etson responded. _You speak Alimandish? That's cool._

"Mourem fiomal, ro yez, lucem mour," Clare said, her accent quite thick. _I speak it poorly, but yes, I can speak it._

The two of them looked at each other, both smiling.

"Ahem," Nick interrupted, "as much as I'd like to watch you two get to know each other in a language I don't understand, we still have a lot of questions to get through."

"Of course, officer, sorry about that," Clare apologized. "What else would you like to know?"

"Well, we have two other victims who are in the same circumstance as you...And they were both predators who had immigrated here from somewhere else," Nick explained. "So, have you ever been part of a group that was against prey rights, or any other organization that may have put a target on your back?"

"No. I don't get involved in politics," she answered bluntly.

"Is there anyone who you can think of who would want to do this to you?" Judy questioned.

"No. Not that I'm aware of, at least," the cheetah replied. Judy sighed. It didn't seem like there was anything they could use from this info, much less try to identify a suspect with it.

"Are you sure?" Judy pressed, grasping at straws. There had to be something they could get out of this interview. "Is there anyone who is mad at you, or who you may have upset that you can think of? Even if it doesn't seem related to the case. We're desperate for info here."

Clare sighed heftily. "Well...there is _one_ thing that I can think of..." Nick and Judy suddenly became more attentive. "But it's not at all related to what happened here today. And I'm not sure that I'm even allowed to talk about it."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Not allowed to talk about? What do you mean?"

"Some of the research we're doing here...It's not exactly what you'd call...available to the public, to put it one way," Clare told them. "It's classified information."

"Please, Clare," Judy begged, "This criminal is still at large and it might be the only lead we have to catch him."

Clare leaned back in her chair, contemplating what she should do. If anyone found out about this, she would be in huge trouble. She would absolutely lose her job, and maybe even get sued afterwards. Still, she felt as though she couldn't just withhold the information from them at this point, especially since she had already told them that she had something to tell them. She also knew that this room didn't have any security cameras in it, so as long as there was no extra ears, nobody else would hear. "Alright, I'll do it. But listen closely, because I'm not repeating it," she warned them. She did a quick look around to make sure that nobody was going to eavesdrop on their conversation. "Okay. First of all, the team I'm on is designated to night howler research. We're supposed to figure out what causes animals to act how they act when exposed to night howlers, what it does to their brain that makes them...well... go savage. Up until a couple weeks ago, we were working on a vaccine for night howlers that we would hopefully be able to use to immunize the population. Then, suddenly," Clare went on, her voice softer, "things got strange. The animals on the board of research at city hall told us to start studying how to make this weird anti-night howler, something they called 'day whisperers.' I see that you're confused," she commented, noticing the quizzical look on Etson's face. "These 'day whisperers'...they're meant to do the opposite of night howlers. Night howlers make an animal go savage, as you know. Well, day whisperers make them completely docile and pacified, in theory anyways. We don't even think that they're possible to make, currently," Clare rapidly spat out what she knew, with Judy furiously writing everything she heard. "Anyways, the part you need to know is that I, like many of my colleagues, was confused about why we suddenly made this shift in research after so much time invested on the vaccine project. And so I decided that I was going to take it up with the head of the board, Mr. Fasco."

"Wait, _the_ Mr. Fasco?" Etson asked. "The politician?"

"Yes, the one who's running for mayor," Clare confirmed.

"Something about him...what was it? He's the koala, right?" Etson asked to confirm. The others nodded. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, trying to remember something important. _It's on the tip of my tongue..._ Etson thought.

"Anyways, I confronted him about it, just asking a simple question...and he started yelling really loudly at me... Something about doing my job with my head down, threatening to fire me on the spot. I started crying, and he screamed at me to stop wasting his time and get out of his office," Clare's face shifted into a frown. "I still don't know why we've switched research projects, but I don't dare ask anymore."

Judy scribbled the last of what Clare had said on her notepad. "Thank you so much, you've been such a huge help," she said to Clare, shaking her paw again. The three officers got up and made their way towards the door.

"No problem," Clare replied, getting up from her chair. "Oh, wait, I forgot one more thing." She ran back over to her desk, grabbing a pen and a sticky note. She wrote something down, picked up the note and gave it to Etson. "Dza. Em polerez casmiz."

Etson's eyes widened as he looked at the note. "Uh...coutwere. Zirem."

Clare giggled. Nick and Judy glanced at each other. "Did you get any of that?" Nick asked.

Judy shook her head. "Not a word."

"Alright, goodbye. Drive safe, you guys," Clare said to them, waving.

"Thank you again!" Judy said, the three of them also waving goodbye.

"My pleasure. Take care," she replied, putting her safety goggles back on, ready to get back to work.

The three animals walked out of the room and down the hallway, having gotten the information they needed.

"So...what exactly did she say to you back there?" Nick inquired curiously.

Etson grinned. "She said to... call her zometime."

Nick's eyebrows shot up. "Really now?" He seemed surprised. "Huh. Not bad, kid."

The three of them went back down the elevator, heading past the receptionist again, who was just as busy as when they had left her. They walked out the front door and headed towards the police cruiser.

"So, where to next?" Nick wondered aloud.

Judy looked down at her watch. It was 4:10pm, meaning that there was still time to continue investigating. "I was thinking maybe we should try city hall. If anything Clare said is true...then we might want to see if we have a lead on this Fasco guy."

"I mean, it was nice of Clare to share that with us...But why would Fasco be related to our case at all?" Nick asked. "There's no way that he would be the one vandalizing the shops. Clare only pointed him out because we begged her to point us to something. And besides," he argued, "it's not like he even did anything wrong. Changing a research project is hardly criminal."

Judy tapped her chin with the carrot pen. Nick was right. They had no evidence tying Fasco to the vandalizers, only the fact that he was doing something odd at a research facility. And even if they did want to question him, they had no way of confronting him without exposing that it was Clare who had given them the evidence. The bunny groaned. "We're at a dead end again."

"Well, maybe discussing this over food would help," Nick suggested. "There's supposed to be a good open air market near here."

Judy sighed, disappointed that they still weren't getting anywhere with the case. "Alright then, let's go."

* * *

 **Chapter 6 is up! As always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged. Please let me know what you think about the plot and characters!**


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter 7-

Nick, Judy and Etson all were amazed at the sheer size of the marketplace. It seemed to stretch on forever, with various stands all selling their own goods. Everywhere they looked, there were animals bartering with one another, trying to get a good deal on everything from lamps to fruit. If there was something you needed, chances were that someone there was selling it. A variety of aromas bombarded them as they walked through the crowds. Spices, flowers, cooked meat...Nick's nose was practically in heaven.

"Free samples! Try our specially made tilapia, fresh off the grill!" a yak beckoned to passerby.

"Ooh, don't mind if I do," Nick took one of the samples off of the platter and popped it in his mouth. "Mmmm..." he said as he swallowed. "I think I know where I'm eating. I'll meet you guys at the seating area over there once I get my food." He pointed to a large area filled with tables.

"Okay, we'll meet back up with you then," Judy agreed. She and Etson waved goodbye and continued down the street. Fending off vendors left and right, they kept walking until a certain cart caught the bunny's eye. _Preycious_ _Specials_. She stared for a moment, noting the various dishes that animals had bought. They all looked appetizing. "Hmm... I think I'm going to go and eat here," she told Etson. "I'll meet you where Nick mentioned earlier, okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit," he replied. The raccoon continued walking down the marketplace road, enjoying just seeing what everyone was selling. His eyes jumped from stand to stand, watching the interactions between shopkeepers and customers.

"Rugs! Get your rugs here!" a deer yelled.

"Buy a custom made necklace! Only $5!" another vendor yelled.

Etson turned his focus to the other side of the market.

"Get your herbs here! We sell 'em better and cheaper than anyone else!" a rhino boomed in a deep voice. "We've got horseradish, jalapeno, eucalyptus, anything you could possibly want!"

Etson's eyes widened, his memory suddenly jogged by what the rhino had said. _That's it!_ he thought, _Eucalyptus leaves_ _, that's what Fasco -_

His thoughts were interrupted by a screech from across the market. Suddenly, before he knew it, everyone around him was running, their eyes filled with panic. Screams broke out all across the marketplace. Etson looked around confused, not knowing what was going on.

"Everybody, run for your lives!" a hippo yelled as loudly as he could. "There's a savage wolf in the square!"

Etson raised his paw to cover his mouth, which was now wide open. How could this happen?

The shopkeepers, who had been so desperate for business not one moment earlier, quickly fled along with every other animal in sight, forming a massive stampede away from the center of the square. Etson looked around him. He needed to find Nick and Judy.

* * *

"I'll have your grilled tilapia, please," Nick ordered his meal. He couldn't wait to eat. He was thoroughly starving, as the last meal he had eaten was nearly ten hours ago. The fox leaned on the wall of the building, waiting for his order to be cooked, and took out his phone, opening up the Preddit app. He scrolled down the page, looking for any interesting links to kill some time.

Suddenly, a piercing scream ripped through the air. Nick looked up from his phone, startled. He quickly looked around to see what was going on.

"Help!" someone shrieked from the crowd. "There's a savage wolf!"

Nick froze. _Oh no..._ he thought, _n_ _ot again._

Quickly, he pocketed his phone. He scanned around the crowd frantically, watching as the mass panic set in. Animals began rushing away from the danger. He reached for his radio, knowing that he was going to need backup.

"This is Officer Wilde! We have an 1830 in Haymarket Square!" he yelled. "There is a savage wolf, I repeat, there is a savage wolf! Requesting immediate reinforcement!"

Nick ran in the direction of the screams. Already, he knew there were going to be casualties. He just wasn't sure how many.

* * *

Judy was in line, waiting to be served. She was excited to try out the food here, as everyone she had seen that ordered from there seemed to be greatly enjoying their meal. She enjoyed spending time in the marketplace, in no small part because of the vibe it gave off. It was a bustling hub of trade and commerce, while simultaneously being a place for socialization and interaction. In some ways, it reminded her of her local town fair in Bunnyboro that would come for one week during the summer, only this place was ten times as busy and diverse. She exhaled happily. Yes, she decided she liked this place very much.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming through her radio. " _This is Officer Wilde! We have an 1830 in Haymarket Square!"_ Judy's ears suddenly drooped, her previously happy thoughts now replaced by a pit in her stomach. _"There is a savage wolf, I repeat, there is a savage wolf! Requesting immediate reinforcement!"_

The animals around her in line looked at her as they heard Nick's words, their faces full of fear. They stared at her, in her ZPD uniform, wanting desperately for this bunny to tell them that they were safe, that they had nothing to worry about, that what had come through her radio wasn't true.

"You...you all need to evacuate this place," she said, confirming what were all of their greatest fears. "Get everyone out of the square! You have to leave!"

The expressions around her turned to sheer terror. Petrified, the crowd stood still. They were in pure shock.

"You heard her! Run!" one animal from the crowd yelled, bringing the rest of the group to their senses. One by one, they all began to run down the street, forming a sort of stampede.

Judy felt her heart rate increase as adrenaline started to kick in. A single thought ran through her mind: neutralize the savage. The bunny ran the opposite direction the crowd she had just caused, trying not to get stepped on by larger animals. She hopped up on one of the stands, trying to get a better vantage point so she could see where the attack had occurred. Then she spotted it, about a hundred yards to the north, down on all fours and running after the crowd.

She jumped off the stand and hit the ground running, hoping she could get there before the wolf caught any more victims.

* * *

Thoughts were racing through Nick's head. He had his tranquilizer out, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot at the first sight of the wolf. He kept running into the crowd, desperately looking for the attacker, when he saw it.

Nick examined the wolf. Its eyes glistened yellow, only having small slits for pupils. It was down on all fours, remnants of torn clothes stuck in its black fur. It was intently focused on the crowd, lunging after them in a furious bloodlust.

He had to distract it. Frantically, he looked for something he could throw at it to get its attention.

 _C'mon, there's gotta be something,_ Nick thought. Suddenly, he noticed a glass tip jar on the counter of the tilapia stand. _Ah, perfect!_

Nick picked up the jar, which was rather heavy from all of the coins inside, and started running in the direction of the wolf.

"Hey, wolfie!" he yelled at the attacker. "Catch!"

He threw the jar while running, tossing it as hard as he could. It soared through the air, the coins jangling together as it began to arc, hitting the wolf in stride, glass shattering and coins flying everywhere.

"Yes!" Nick exclaimed as the wolf let out a yelp. "Bullseye!"

The wolf slowly turned around in the direction of the throw. It focused its yellow, savage eyes onto the fox, who was now its sole target. It let out a snarl, baring its glistening fangs. Enraged, it started to run towards Nick.

"Yes, come towards me," Nick urged it, calmly aiming the tranquilizer at the wolf. He pulled the trigger, hitting the animal in the throat. It let out a whimper, slightly recoiling.

"Hah, take that!" Nick boasted victoriously. The wolf would be asleep in a few seconds, meaning that the danger was gone.

"Wait...what?" Nick said, his victorious smile shifting into a confused frown. The wolf wasn't fazed by the dart at all. It let out a mighty roar, and started running at Nick. "Why didn't it...AH!"

Nick ducked as the wolf lunged over his head. He turned the other way and started to run. The wolf reoriented itself after hitting the ground and started striding after Nick, desperate to catch its newest meal. The fox's eyes darted around the marketplace, trying to find somewhere he could lose the wolf. He weaved through the stands, trying to make it harder for the wolf to follow, but to little avail. He sprinted as hard as he could, turning around to see if he was making any progress. He turned the corner, running into the seating area. He picked up a chair and threw it back at the wolf, hitting the creature in the head, but not slowing it down at all.

"Nonono please!" Nick begged. The wolf was gaining on him. He gasped for air, running for his life. The wolf lunged again. Nick turned around to see the creature in midair, its maw open, ready to sink its teeth into its victim's flesh. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the bite.

Suddenly, a pair of powerful hind legs sprung into the wolf's jaw, knocking it out of the air and into the brick wall of a nearby building. Nick slowly opened his eyes, surprised that he hadn't been torn to shreds.

"Carrots?" Nick looked up to see his partner standing over him. "You...you saved my life..."

"Not the first time," she reminded him, pulling the fox to his feet. "Quick, we have to neutralize it," she said, quickly pulling out a muzzle and handcuffs. The wolf was unconscious on the sidewalk, but they both suspected that wouldn't last for long. They ran over, Judy quickly handcuffing its front paws together. There was a low growl from the wolf, who was slowly coming to its senses.

"It's waking up!" Judy yelled. She handed Nick the muzzle. "I'll hold its head down, you put it on."

Nick looked down at the muzzle, before looking back at her. "Judy, you know I-"

"On three!" she ordered him, too full of adrenaline to notice he had said anything. She pressed down on the wolf's head. "One...two...three!"

Nick stood above the wolf, looking down at the muzzle in his hand. As he looked over the steel cage that was attached to the strap, he felt his body going stiff. A chill ran down his spine. Memories came rushing into his head, his breathing getting heavier. He looked around him. He was back at his first ranger scout meeting, his fellow scouts standing around him.

 _You thought that we would ever trust a fox without a muzzle?_

The words echoed through his head. Nick took a step backwards, hyperventilating now, stuck inside a nightmare.

"Nick! What are you doing?" Judy shouted, trying to get through to him. "Just put the muzzle on!" The wolf was almost completely awake now, and it was growling angrily. Judy was struggling to keep its head in place. She pushed down as hard as she could on the its head, grunting as she fought the creature. "Nick, Put it on NOW!" she screamed.

Nick looked down at the wolf. Every rational fiber of his being was telling him to listen to Judy and muzzle the creature, but his body wouldn't budge.

The wolf broke free of Judy's hold, its strength overpowering the small rabbit's comparatively weak arms. It twisted its head around, fangs bared. Judy shrieked in agony as the wolf sunk its teeth into her. Her cry pierced through Nick's skull, breaking his petrification. Spurred into action, he shoved the wolf off of Judy. He wrestled with the creature, pinning it to the ground and applying the muzzle.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Judy repeated over and over again, the pain in her arm screaming as the blood began to pool.

Nick, still on top of the wolf, turned to look at Judy, eyes full of grief.

 _This is all my fault,_ he realized. He became frantic as he processed what had just happened. _This is all my fault._

Nick went through what had just happened moments earlier again, unable to get the image of the wolf biting Judy out of his head.

"Judy I-" he stuttered, choking on his words. "I'm so sorry."

"It's...okay..." she managed to say between breaths. "Stay...on...the...wolf..."

Nick looked at her. As if getting her injured wasn't bad enough, he was forced to watch as she bled out alone. He looked back at the wolf, contemplating the magnitude of what he had just done.

He thought that he had finally overcome his past. All of those years on the street, all of the time he spent conforming instead of believing...Nick thought that they were behind him now. When he had agreed to be Judy's partner, it was supposed to be the start of a new life for him. It was supposed to be his escape from his past, a symbol that the world wasn't going to prevent him from being who he wanted to be. Judy had changed him for the better, to the point that he was no longer recognizable next to his past self. But now... now he wasn't so sure that he had changed at all. He was still the same dumb, cowardly fox that was afraid of muzzles. He had climbed mountains to get away from his past, only to find that it waiting for him at the summit. The fox felt tears start to well up in his eyes. Above all else, Nick was tired. Tired of being who he was.

* * *

Etson ripped down the banner that had been used as a cover for one of the stands. He tore it apart, dividing it into smaller pieces. He quickly picked up all of the individual shreds of cloth and ran back towards the center of the marketplace, hoping that he wouldn't be too late.

He looked around the square, which up until a few minutes ago had been bustling. After the attack everyone had fled, leaving the square all but empty, save for those who had been injured in the attack. There were so many animals on the ground who needed help, and so little animals who had stayed to help them. Quickly, he scurried around the square, distributing the makeshift bandages he had just made to those who were able to help. He kept some for himself, knowing that there would be an animal he would have to patch up somewhere. He glanced around again. He spotted a deer unconscious on the opposite side of the square. Rapidly, he ran to their aid.

Etson shook their arm, trying to wake them from their state of unconsciousness. "Get up, get up!" he pleaded with the wounded animal, but it was no of use. Etson put two fingers on their throat and put his head on their chest, desperately hoping to feel a pulse or hear breathing. Their chest moved ever so slightly up and down again, indicating to Etson that they were still alive. He took out his bandages and looked for the most serious wound he could find. Etson lifted the deer's shirt up and turned him over, revealing a giant gash on their back caused by claws. He sprung into action, wrapping and tying the bandages around the wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Not seeing any other wounds on the deer, he laid him back onto his chest. He went back to monitoring the pulse and breathing. If at any point the deer's chest stopped moving, Etson was ready to start CPR.

In the distance there were sirens, increasing in volume over time as they came in closer proximity to the scene. Etson guessed that it would only be a matter of minutes before emergency teams arrived, at which point he would be able to go and look for Nick and Judy. He sighed, hoping that they were both okay, but also grateful that they had been there. Etson couldn't imagine what would have happened if the two of them hadn't led the wolf away from the crowds. He shuddered at the thought, not wanting to think about how many more bodies there would be on the ground.

* * *

"Ow!" Judy grimaced as they sprayed antiseptic on her wound, causing a stinging sensation to go up and down her arm. The ambulances had arrived a few minutes after she had been bitten, but as her wound wasn't potentially fatal she wasn't given as much attention as other animals. Now that all of those cases had been dealt with, the EMTs had a chance to treat the more minor wounds, including Judy's.

"Alright, sweetie, I'm just gonna put a bandage on that for you now," the pig who was tending to her said. "Just hold still for me."

Judy put out her arm and did as she was told. The pig carefully wrapped the wound, trying to minimize the chance of it getting infected. "There you go, hun. That will keep bleeding for a while, but just keep replacing the bandages and you'll be just fine," the pig assured her.

"Thank you, ma'am," Judy said.

"No no, thank _you_ ," the pig replied. "We'd have a lot more patients here in dire condition if it weren't for you and that fox."

Judy sulked at the mention of Nick. She couldn't imagine how badly he must be feeling right now. In the heat of the moment she had completely forgotten about him and his history with muzzles. Unlike every other officer, he didn't carry a muzzle on his belt, having gotten special permission from Chief Bogo that permitted him not to carry one. She sighed, remembering what he had confided in her one night while he was in the academy.

"I just couldn't bring myself to do it, Carrots," he had confessed in their phone conversation. As part of the academy training, all of the officers were taught how to properly use a muzzle, just like any other weapon. Nick came out of the ordeal completely humiliated, his determination rattled. _"_ It's like my body won't let me. I can't explain it," he had told her.

Judy hopped off of the bed and made her way out of the makeshift clinic, which was comprised of a number of ambulances and first aid supplies. She felt like such an insensitive jerk. She knew that Nick hated muzzles, still given him one, then yelled at him when he didn't use it right away. She had set up her partner to fail, and then gotten mad at him when he did. She could have just as easily told him to hold down the wolf while she muzzled it, but she hadn't been conscious enough of him to consider it.

She stepped into the square and glanced at her watch. 6:21pm. She looked around for Nick and Etson, trying to tune out all of the sirens and flashing lights. More than anything she just wanted to apologize to Nick and clear up the whole mess.

"Judy!" a voice called out to her from across the square. She squinted, trying to find where it was coming from, until she spotted Etson waving his arm in the air, standing next to Nick. She quickly ran over to them, happy to see them unscathed from the attacks. "I'm so glad that you both are okay."

Nick turned away from the bunny, too ashamed to make eye contact. His shoulders drooping, he fixed his gaze on the ground. In stark contrast, Etson happily extended his arms and embraced Judy, smiling. "You guys did a great job out zhere," the raccoon commended the officers.

"Well...we did what we could," Judy responded bleakly. There were still so many who had gotten hurt that it was hard to be proud of what they had done, even if they had saved potential victims.

Etson looked down at the rabbit, when he noticed the bandage. "Wait...what happened to your arm?" he asked, his expression noticeably more concerned.

"Oh, that?" Judy said, looking down at her wound again. "It's nothing. Just a small flesh wound."

Nick shoulders sank even lower at the mention of her bandage. He knew she was purposely trying to play down the severity of her injury to make him feel less guilty, which only made him feel worse.

"Are you sure? It looks like zhere's a lot of blood zhere," Etson said. The wound certainly looked like it was more than the trivial scratch Judy was making it out to be.

"It's fine...I'm fine. We're all here, and everything is fine," Judy reassured them, "It's not a big deal."She was noticeably more irritated than when Etson had asked the first time. Her ears drooping, she looked down at the ground, guiltily stroking her healthy arm.

Etson looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure about what to do. He had never seen either of them this dejected. Something had clearly happened while they were fighting off the wolf, Etson deduced, but he decided it would be better if he just left the issue alone.

"Well," he started, trying to change the topic, "you'll be happy to hear zhat I have some good news about zhe case," he excitedly mentioned. "I remembered an important detail about Fasco zhat I had forgotten."

Neither Nick nor Judy responded, their eyes both still fixed on the ground.

"Oh, come on, you guys," Etson said, shaking his head. There was no way he was going to let them continue on like this. "You two aren't supposed to be like zhis. You're supposed to be partners," he reminded them, trying his best to be optimistic. "Look, I don't know what happened here, but I'm going to go over zhere and buy some food, leaving you two alone. By zhe time I come back you two will be back to your normal selves. Okay?"

They both slightly nodded, still not looking up.

"I'll take zhat as a yes," Etson sighed. He turned around and headed for the opposite side of the marketplace, just as he said he would. He kept on walking, leaving Nick and Judy alone, backs facing each other.

The two of them stood there in silence, not sure what to say to the other.

Judy opened her mouth, trying to force the words out. "Nick, look, I -"

"I don't want to hear it, Carrots," Nick interrupted. He spoke quietly but sharply, his tone somber and worn down. "I'm not letting you take the blame for this."

"But it's my fault, Nick!" she retorted loudly. She turned around to look at him, his back still facing her. "I was the one who gave you the stupid muzzle in the first place."

"You and I both know that fact doesn't matter," he replied. He was still facing forward, eyes on the street. "Why won't you just let me take the blame for this?"

"Because it's not your fault!" Judy yelled. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Nick, I _knew_ that you had a problem with muzzles. You had told me that you freeze up around them, and I still handed you one. It's not your fault that you didn't act."

"So what you're saying," Nick responded, "is that I'm no longer accountable for my own actions?"

"No-I mean, yes- but it's not like you could do anything to-"

"Judy, look at me," Nick cut her off. He turned around, turning his focus to the rabbit, looking into her eyes. "Tell me honestly - when you handed me the muzzle, did you or did you not trust that I would muzzle the wolf?"

Judy stumbled for a moment, caught off guard by his sudden question. "I mean it's not-"

"Did you trust that I would muzzle the wolf?" Nick repeated, his arms crossed. "Yes or no?"

Judy stared up at him, her eyes grief-stricken. Why was he doing this to her? Why wouldn't he just let her take the blame?

"Yes," she truthfully answered.

The two of them stood there in silence, looking at each other.

"So that settles it then," he said calmly, staring off into the distance. "You trusted me to do something, and I didn't do it. It's my fault."

Judy looked back up at her partner. "Nick, you know it's not that simple," she said to him. "Don't tell me that you honestly believe that it's only because of you that the wolf bit me."

Nick kept staring off. "It's just..." he started, thinking of how to best express what he wanted to say. "It's just that...I thought I had finally beaten this, Carrots," he admitted, his face and tone stoic, "but I'm...I'm still same fox I was back then."

Judy looked up at her partner sympathetically. "...But Nick, you aren't the same fox," she put her paw on his arm, trying to console him. "Look at yourself. You're in a police uniform, you big dummy," she teased him, causing him to smile ever so slightly.

"Nick, look," Judy sighed. "I'm going to lay everything out for you right now. You made a mistake today, that's true. You were scared and petrified and...and you let your past get the best of you," she admitted, trying her best to be sincere, "but you know what? You were also brave and courageous. You were a dumb and fearful coward... but you were also a hero. I mean, for Pete's sake, you saved some animals' lives today, Nick. Who knows how many more the wolf would have gotten if you hadn't been there? Think about it for a second. There is someone out there who will get to sleep in their bed another night _just because of you,"_ she pressed her finger into his chest as she said each of the four words. Judy paused for a moment, allowing the gravity of the words to sink in. She then turned her head and stared deeply into the fox's eyes, and as heartfeltly as she could express, said to him, "And if you ask me, that's a lot more important than the bite in your partner's arm."

Their eyes remained locked with one another.

"Thanks, Carrots," Nick said, his usual sly smile returning. "I needed that."

"Anytime, Slick," Judy replied, beaming with positivity. Smugly, she added, "Oh, and for the record, you threw that tip jar like a bunny."

Nick smirked. "C'mere, you silly thing." He wrapped his arms around her. The two of them hugged each other tightly, both secretly incredibly grateful for one another.

"Aww, you two made up!"

Nick and Judy immediately stopped hugging, pretending as though nothing has happened.

"Zhat was pretty adorable, you guys," Etson remarked, snickering. "I didn't know zhat you two were a zhing."

"We're not-I mean, it's not like-" Nick quickly refuted.

"Shhhhhh," Etson put a finger over the fox's lips. "Your secret is safe with me."

The three of them laughed together. Nick and Judy exchanged a nervous glance with one another, embarrassed that Etson had seen them hugging.

Slowly the laughter subsided. "Alright," Nick said, rubbing his paws together in anticipation. "Tell us what you remembered about Fasco."

* * *

 **Hey guys! Chapter 7 is out, and it's an exciting one! Lots of action, lots of mystery, lots of character development. I hope you guys all enjoy it, and, as always, please leave a review giving your thoughts about the story! They really help me gauge where I'm at with my writing and what I need to improve on. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8-

"Ah, here is zhe part I was looking for," Etson remarked. He had spent the past ten or so minutes digging through all of the video files he had sent to the ZPD regarding Omar Moufflon, and just now found the clip he was looking for. The eucalyptus leaves in the market had jogged his memory,and gone back to the police headquarters to comb through the evidence. The film he had open on the screen was about twenty minutes long and was from a few days ago in his cafe. "Zhere he is. Frederick Fasco."

Nick and Judy both moved closer to look at the screen. "Are you sure that's him?" Judy asked, squinting at the screen.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about this, Etson," Nick confessed. "Everyone knows that all koalas look the same."

"Nick..." Judy scolded him, "You know you shouldn't generalize like that."

"I know, I know," Nick replied. "But...you have to admit, it's kinda true. They're all just little gray fluffballs," he said, adding, "Kinda like you, Carrots."

She glared at him, trying to resist the urge to punch him in the arm.

"Look at zhis," Etson called their attention back to the screen. He had pulled an image of Fasco to compare next to the footage. "You see? Totally identical."

Judy examined the images closely, paying extra attention to the facial details. "Yep," Judy confirmed, "I'd say those two are the same person."

"Alright, so we know it's Fasco in the clip," Nick said. "Big whoop."

"It is a 'big whoop,'" Etson replied, putting air quotes around the words. "Whatever zhat means."

Nick rolled his eyes. He still wasn't sure why Etson had dragged them all the way back to the police station to show them this, as so far there hadn't been anything of use to the investigation.

"Let's just watch the clip," Judy suggested. Etson nodded, pressing the play button.

The footage started rolling, showing Etson's cafe. The camera was located in the corner of the room at roughly eye level, allowing them to see everything that was going on in the store. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The shop was empty, except for Etson, who was scrubbing the counter with his apron on, when a bell rung. A koala walked through the door, wearing a suit coat and dress pants.

 _"Oh, hello zhere," Etson greeted him. "How may I help you?"_

 _"I'd..uh, like some coffee, please," Fasco replied._

 _"Sure zhing!" Etson responded, taking his place behind the counter. As he did so, Fasco looked around the room. The more he inspected the place, the more his face shifted into one of disgust. It was quite clear he had somewhere he'd rather be._

 _"What kind would you like?" Etson asked him._

 _"Give me the tevoui," the koala told him harshly, adding "Do you have any eucalyptus leaves?"_

 _"I do, actually!" Etson said, trying to remain cheerful in spite of the difficult customer. "Would you like me to add them to the blend?"_

 _"No, I just asked because I was curious," Fasco rudely answered, shaking his head. "Of course I want you to add them to the blend!"_

 _Etson just smiled back at him, doing his best to remain professional. Somebody had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning._

 _"Stupid immigrant," Fasco muttered under his breath, only half caring about whether or not Etson heard him._

 _Ignoring what Fasco said, Etson continued to prepare the beverage. So it was because he was an immigrant that this koala hated his shop. He shook his head. He wanted to spit in the drink so badly, but he reasoned with himself that such behavior would be allowing himself to sink down to Fasco's level._

 _"Here you go, sir," Etson handed him his drink. "Zhank you for your business."_

 _Fasco gave him a nasty stare, but accepted the drink. He moved to the table farthest away from the counter, where he sat in silence for five minutes or so, irritatedly sipping his drink while looking at his phone. Once he had finished, he stood up abruptly, picked up his briefcase, and exited the cafe._

"Wait a second," Nick interjected. Etson stopped the playback. "Rewind back to when he walks in again for me."

Raising an eyebrow quizzically, Etson did as he was told, scrolling back to the start of the clip.

The whole scene started to replay. The bell rang again as Fasco entered the store and started walking over to Etson, exactly as he had done before.

"Stop it right there," Nick told Etson, staring intently at the screen. "Okay, now go back to when he walks out of the store."

Etson, though still not sure what Nick was doing, did as he was told. Nick kept examining the video.

"I knew it," he shook his head. "This is a textbook briefcase drop. Look at this." Nick reached for the mouse and keyboard, pushing Etson to the side so that he could control the playback. He pressed the designated rewind button on the keyboard, sending the clip back to when Fasco had entered.

"Here he is walking in," he calmly pointed out, "Notice that he is sans briefcase." Etson and Judy both nodded, looking intensely at the footage.

"And here he is walking out," Nick scrolled forward in the tape. "This time with a briefcase."

"So that means..." Judy realized, "Fasco had to have picked up the briefcase while he was in the store!"

"Bingo," Nick replied. "And he picks it up..." he moved the tracker to the moment Fasco sat down at his table, "right at that table."

"But zhen who put zhe briefcase zhere?" Etson asked. "Because I didn't do it."

Nick shrugged. "Let's go back farther in the footage to find out." He rewound the entire video to the very beginning, rewinding even before Fasco walked in, and pressed play. The scene was the same. The cafe was empty, except for Etson, who was tending to business around the shop.

"Wait a minute..." Judy said as the playback continued. "There's no briefcase at the table Fasco sits at yet. So that means..."

"Someone had to have put it down over the course of the video," Nick said, finishing Judy's thought. If they just kept watching the tape, then they would get to see who left the briefcase for Fasco, giving them another potential lead to follow.

The bell on the door rung in the video, signalling a customer had walked in.

 _"Ayy, Etson, buddy, how are you doing today?" Omar Moufflon asked._

 _"Hey, Joe!" Etson responded, addressing him by his presumed identity. "I'm doing well, zhanks."_

"Look," Judy pointed out, "That's Omar Moufflon...and he has the briefcase on him!"

"So he does," Nick replied nonchalantly. "Let's see what he does with it."

Etson moved behind the counter, ready to serve Omar. "So, zhe usual?" he asked the sheep.

"Yes, please," Omar replied. He took off his overcoat and sat down at the table in the corner, placing his briefcase down between the wall and his chair.

"There it is, the moment he drops it," Nick remarked. "I'll bet you that it stays in that exact spot until our friend Fasco comes."

He fast forwarded through the footage, the three of them keeping eyes on the briefcase. Nick was right - the briefcase stayed put until Fasco picked it up.

"What did I tell you?" the fox smugly commented, his guess having been validated. "I know a hustle when I see one."

"But...this doesn't make sense," Judy said, her foot thumping as she thought. "What would Fasco want from Omar that could be in that briefcase?"

"Omar...I know zhat he was working wizh Bellwezher, but what exactly did he do?" Etson inquired.

"He was somehow involved in the chemistry behind the night howler serum," Nick answered. "But that's all I know about him."

"Night howler serum..." Judy mumbled, staring into space as she mulled over the words. Suddenly, she made a connection. "Wait, didn't Clare say something about Fasco and night howlers?"

"She said zhat he was zhe head of zhe board of research," Etson replied quickly, a slight smile coming to his face at the mention of Clare. "Apparently zhey were studying zhe effects of zhe night howlers."

"If that's the case..." Nick paused for a moment to process what he had heard. "It could just be that he's getting some data from Omar," Nick suggested. He still didn't see how this evidence tied Fasco to the crimes in any way. It was shady, yes, but hardly anything worth taking action over.

"But why wouldn't he just meet with Omar in private, then?" Judy countered. "If he wasn't doing something shady, he wouldn't have tried so hard to conceal what was going on."

"He's a candidate for mayor," Nick responded. "Of course he doesn't want to be seen with a wanted criminal."

"But zhen who else could have burned down my cafe?" Etson asked earnestly. "If Fasco was friends wizh Omar...zhen we have a reason to investigate him."

Judy nodded. "I think you might be right, Etson. Fasco's directly tied to two of the vandalizations...We have to consider that he might be involved."

"Okay then," Nick said, slightly annoyed that they hadn't sided with him. "If we're so sure that Fasco did this, then how do you suggest we get more info?" he questioned. "I mean it's not like he's going to admit to anything if we question him."

"He might, if we threaten to show this to the news networks," Judy offered. Nick's eyebrows jumped up at the idea.

"You want to blackmail a public official?" Nick asked, in some disbelief that she would suggest such a thing. "Carrots, I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

Judy hadn't thought about that part. She had just blurted out the first idea that came to her mind.

"Uhh...Yes...Yes, that would be..." Judy stuttered, embarrassed. "You know, on second thought, let's not do that."

Nick grinned. "And they all thought I was the sketchy partner," he joked, chuckling.

Etson kept looking at the evidence on the screen. "So, what other options do we have zhen, if we can't go to Fasco?" Etson inquired. "Zhere has to be zomezhing we can figure out from zhis."

Judy's foot started thumping again as she thought. "Well, we just need to figure out what's inside the briefcase. If we can't talk to Fasco..." she muttered, ideas churning in her brain, "...then maybe we can talk to Omar."

Nick shook his head. "Fat chance. Never in a million years would he talk to us."

Judy's foot kept thumping. Omar would never agree to an interrogation, which meant that they had exactly zero animals left who knew what was in the briefcase. Unless...

"Etson," Judy said to the raccoon, who had zoned out, "did Omar have a girlfriend, wife, anyone really close to him that he told you about? If he did have someone like that…"

"Then they could have seen what went into the briefcase," Nick finished. "Clever bunny."

"Thanks," Judy replied, grinning. "So, Etson, can you remember anyone like that?"

Etson closed his eyes, attempting to remember the conversations he had had with Omar. "Yes..." he finally replied, "Zhere was someone he told me about. Her name is Lila. I don't know anyzhing else about her," he told them. "In fact, I only remember her name because it means somezhing else in Alimandish."

"Really?" Judy exclaimed. "What does it mean?"

"It means...dirt," Etson answered. "Not exactly charming, I know."

Judy smiled. "Nick, do you know anyone who goes by the name of dirt?" she asked him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Carrots?" Nick responded with his usual slick demeanor. "I know everybody. Including this dirt or Lila or whatever we're calling her. She's the sister of an older client I had once. She's a beaver, lives in Tundratown."

"Perfect. Let's see if we can set up an appointment to meet with her," Judy suggested. She looked up at the clock on the wall. 8:47pm. Her parents would be calling her in about half an hour, and she really wanted to get back to her apartment so she could crash. "Although I think we should probably call it a day for now. It's getting late."

"Good idea," Nick agreed. He was totally exhausted after the events of the day. Investigating the vandalized house, interviewing Clare, the whole ordeal with the wolf...to say it was a long day would be an understatement. He reached towards the computer, pressing the power button. Nick and Judy started to head towards the exit, but Etson stayed put.

He tapped his fingers together, nervous once again. He had nowhere to stay for the night. He still hadn't collected his prize money, having been far too eager in the morning to join Nick and Judy on their investigation. He literally had no money. In hindsight, it may have been wise to open up a bank account and cash the money before coming to the ZPD...but he hadn't exactly been thinking rationally after seeing his cafe in shambles. In any case, it was too late for him to try and change things now. The best he could hope for was that maybe he could get a blanket and find a bench to sleep on.

"Um, do eizher of you know where I can..." Etson forced the words out, cringing, "borrow a blanket?"

Nick and Judy looked at each other, wondering if he was asking what they thought he was asking.

"Etson, you aren't...planning on sleeping...out there, are you?" Judy inquired.

Etson's fingers tapped together more quickly. He stared shamefully at the ground. "...Yes," he mumbled.

"What?," Judy responded, "There's no way I'm letting that happen. You can stay at my place for the night."

Nick's head quickly turned to look at her in disbelief. She trusted Etson enough to let him inside her apartment? They had only known the raccoon for one day and, as far as Nick was concerned, he could be an axe murderer who was going to claim his next victim.

"No, I'll be fine. I just need a blanket," Etson replied sheepishly. "I've done it before. It's not so bad."

"Yeah, Carrots, I'm -" Nick started.

"Nonsense!" Judy interrupted. "I have an air mattress you can sleep on and some extra blankets. It would just be silly to have you sleep on the street."

"I don't know..." Etson muttered nervously. "I don't want to intrude."

"You won't be intruding," Judy insisted. "It's no problem at all."

Nick let out a sigh, crossing his arms. There was no going back at this point. Judy had set her mind on something, which meant that it was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

"Okay," Etson conceded. "But only because you insist."

"Great!" Judy exclaimed, smiling. "That settles it, then," she turned to Nick, who still had a look of discontent on his face. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow then, Nick."

"Yeah," he replied, trying to mask his uneasiness with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Carrots."

The facade he put on didn't fool Judy. She had been partners with him long enough to know when and how he hid his emotions. Right now, she knew that he was frustrated with her in being so trusting with Etson. She could at least see why he would be worried, even if she knew she was doing the right thing.

They waved goodbye, parting ways. Judy and Etson walked over to the bike rack, while Nick walked down the street in the opposite direction.

"Uh, I'll try to ride slowly so that you can keep up," she told Etson, who was eyeing the bikes suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I will keep up," he assured her, smiling. He knew this part of the city very well from the year or so he spent scrounging the streets after his parents had died, and he was confident that he could figure out where they were going.

"Okay, if you say so," Judy said, admiring his confidence.

She started pedaling, crossing the street and heading towards one of the alleyways. Etson followed closely behind her, practically unseen. It was nearly dark, meaning that he could hide himself very easily. It also helped that there weren't many cars out on the street, meaning that they were free to weave through the streets however they wanted. Judy kept riding, going through the alleyway and coming out on another main street. She turned around to see Etson still on her tail, following her closely. She rode down the street, taking a right at the intersection. The bunny whizzed by a number of shops, her wheels spinning as she flew down a hill. Etson ran down the sidewalk, trying to keep up with Judy. He started to fall behind as she accelerated down the hill. As she reached the bottom, he noticed that she was heading to the left.

 _Ah_ , he thought, _she's going to the plaza._

Quickly scanning to make sure there were no cars coming, he ran across the street and quickly scurried to climb a small chain fence. Hardly anyone knew about this shortcut, but it was actually the quickest way to get to the plaza. He hopped over the fence, and started running again. He ran through the densely packed buildings, the cool night wind blowing through his fur. He navigated through the network of alleyways and small side streets, still remembering exactly which ones led where. He ran through another darkly lit back street, popping out at the plaza as Judy arrived.

She noticed him, a confused look on her face. How had he gotten ahead of her? Hadn't he been behind her just a second ago?

Etson saw her expression, causing him to smirk. He hadn't lost his street sense, even after all these years.

Etson kept following after Judy, following her through the streets until she finally stopped in front of a certain building.

"Well, color me impressed," Judy said, taking off her helmet. "You kept up."

"I told you I would," Etson replied, grinning. "I am an animal of my word."

She smiled. She walked into the lobby of the apartment building, heading over to the elevator. Judy pressed the up button.

"So...where did you learn all of those shortcuts?" Judy asked as they waited for the elevator.

"Zhis is where I lived in my first year on zhe streets," Etson answered. "I know all of zhe secrets of zhis area."

Judy nodded. She had wondered about Etson's past a lot over the past day they had spent together, but she wasn't sure if he was comfortable talking about it, so she had decided against bringing up the subject.

The elevator dinged as the doors opened. The two of them stepped inside, greeted by a classical piano melody. Judy pressed the button labeled twelve, and the elevator began to rise.

"Ah, I love zhis song," Etson commented. "It's from one of Tchaikoalasky's concertos."

Judy looked at the raccoon surprisedly. "I didn't take you for a classical music guru, Etson," she admitted.

"It's what I mostly listen to," he replied. His taste in music was one of the ways he had been influenced by his parents. They were the ones who had given him a profound respect for instrumental pieces. He had fond memories of Sunday afternoons when his father and mother would dance around the living room together, always moving to the classical music that came through the radio. Sometimes they tangoed, other times they waltzed, but no matter what the dance, Etson was always amazed in how their bodies perfectly interacted with one another. Once he was old enough, his father would teach him the steps, and they would take turns dancing with Etson's mother. That had been nearly a decade ago, but anytime Etson heard one of the familiar overtures he was still taken back to those magical evenings in front of the fireplace.

The elevator dinged again, signalling that they had reached the level they were supposed to get off at. Judy and Etson stepped out, the raccoon following the bunny to her apartment. Inserting the key, Judy unlocked the door. Her apartment was rather spacious, especially in comparison to where she had been living before.

"This space on the floor here is where I'll set up the mattress for you, okay?" Judy asked, pointing to a spot on the carpet.

"Whatever you want," Etson responded. "It's your place."

Judy opened the closet door and pulled out the air mattress and the pump to fill it up with. She laid it out on the floor and handed Etson the pump.

"Here you go," Judy said as she passed it to him. She pulled a thick quilt out of the closet, laying it folded next to the mattress. "You can set that up. I'm going to go and shower and then call it a night. If there's anything you need, just let me know."

"Zhank you, Judy," Etson said, a sincere look in his eyes. "You have been willing to sacrifice so much for me over zhe past couple days. I...just want to let you know...zhat I am really grateful for it."

She smiled back at him. "It's no big deal, trust me," Judy told him. "After what happened to you...well...let's just say that I can't imagine what I would do if I were in your shoes. You can stay here as long as you need."

"Zhanks, but I plan on cashing zhe prize money tomorrow morning. After zhat I can get a place to stay."

"Well, you know my door is always open," she replied. Suddenly, a vibrant series of marimba tones started coming from the rabbit's pocket. She pulled out her phone to see the contact photo of her parents, who were calling to FaceTime. "Oh, if you'll excuse me, Etson," she excused herself, walking into the other half of the apartment and sitting atop the bed. She slid the icon to the right, accepting the call.

"Hey guys! How are you?" she inquired excitedly.

"Jude the dude! How is my little girl holding up?" her father greeted her, a grin on his face.

"I'm doing great, guys," Judy replied.

"I'm so glad to hear that, sweetie," her mother told her. "Have we told you how proud of you we are?"

Judy shook her head, smiling. "Only every time we talk."

"Well we have a lot to be proud of," her father said lovingly. "How is work? I hear that you're working with that Nick fella now. Is he...nice?"

"Yeah," Judy said, slightly uncomfortable. She still wasn't sure what her parents thought about her working with a fox as a partner. "We make a good team, I think."

"That's good, honey-" her mother started.

"Hi Judy!" one of her siblings popped up in front of the camera. "How many bad guys did you catch today?"

Judy laughed. "Well, Terrance, we did catch that wolf in Haymarket Square, so that's one, I guess," she answered.

"Ooh, we heard about that," her mother said. "They said that the attacker was a savage Alimandish citizen."

Her father shook his head in discontentment. "Those Alimandish...they're always up to no good. How come you never hear about any successful Alimandish people?" he asked rhetorically.

"Now, honey, we shouldn't stereotype, remember?" his wife reminded him.

"But this time it's true!" he argued, raising his voice a bit. "He seriously injured a bunch of people. You saw the video they released of him!"

"Video...? What video?" Judy asked, a confused look on her face.

"You didn't see it? Someone snapped a video on their phone of the whole attack," her dad informed her. "The guy stabbed a needle into his arm and started mauling people. That's some next level crazy right there."

A needle? Stabbed into his own arm?

 _That must have been the night howler serum,_ Judy deduced. But why would anyone willingly inject night howler serum into themselves? Unless… _He must have planned to kill all of those animals,_ Judy realized. Her face shifted into a frown. That meant that it had been a premeditated attack, and that he had tried to use the night howler serum to claim more victims.

"But dear, this is just one Alimandish person acting up," his wife pointed out, still trying to convince him. "Not all Alimandish people are like this."

"I know, I know..." he conceded, "but I can't help but get nervous anytime I'm around them."

"Of course, honey," Judy's mother said, "That's how we all feel."

Judy smiled awkwardly, trying to hide how uncomfortable she was. Every time she talked to them, she was reminded of how close-minded they were. She decided not to argue with them about it, reasoning that it would only lead to unnecessary tension between them, and that if she wanted to get to bed at a decent hour then it would be a bad idea start a political debate.

"Mommy, Mommy!" one of her younger sisters yelled, a piece of paper and pencil in hand. "I need help with my history homework."

"Not right now, sweetie. We're talking to Judy."

"But Mommy, she didn't tell us what the answer was in class!" the small rabbit complained.

"Fine," her mother gave in. "What's the question?"

"What was the prey protection program and what did it do?" Judy's sister read aloud.

Prey Protection Program... she mulled over the words, the gears in her head beginning to turn.

"I'm sorry, Jenny, I don't know anything about that," the mom replied. "Why don't you look it up in your textbook?"

"Ughh...fine," Jenny replied grumpily.

"Sorry about that, Judy," her mother said, turning her focus back to the camera. She seemed to notice something, her eyebrows shooting up. "Judy, what happened to your arm?"

"Oh, that?" she quickly tried to cover up the bandage with the blankets on the bed. "That's nothing."

"She has a bandage, honey, that means she's hurt. My little baby is hurt!" Judy's mother exclaimed worriedly.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay, Judy? What happened? Should we call a doctor?" her father asked, his face suddenly panicked.

"I'm fine, you guys," Judy replied, rolling her eyes. "It's just a small bite."

"Oh, I'm so worried about you! We want you to be safe," her mother said.

"Stop it guys, I'm fine," she insisted. "Listen, mom and dad, it's been great talking with you but I think I better go. Gotta get some rest for a busy day tomorrow."

"Oh, of course, Jude. Just...don't get hurt again, okay? We love you so much and would hate to have anything happen to you," her dad replied.

"Kids, say goodbye to Judy!" her mother called.

A swarm of small bunnies overtook the screen, all vying for screen space. Judy giggled as they all tried to say goodbye.

"Goodnight, you guys! Love you!" she exclaimed, pressing the end call button. Sometimes she thought that her parents loved her just a little too much. Still, some of the things that they had brought up during their conversation had piqued her curiosity. Deciding to investigate for herself, she opened up the web browser and tapped on the search bar. The keyboard clicked as she typed in the three word phrase. She clicked on the first link, which was a Wallabedia article.

 _The Prey Protection Program (also known as "Triple P") was the largest and most ambitious operative passed into legislation by the Zootopian Government regarding equality between predators and prey, training thousands of animals from both parties on the proper ways of interacting with one another, as well as adding clauses into the Zootopian Common School Curriculum that required all schools to have a mandatory class on proper treatment of those in the opposite group. It is often cited today as being a major success, lowering instances of hate crimes drastically, although historians debate the perceived effectiveness in comparison to the actual effectiveness._

Oh my gosh, Judy's eyes widened in realization. This was it. This was the piece they had been missing. She threw herself out of bed and ran into the other room. "Etson!" she blurted out eagerly, startling the raccoon. He turned around to look at her. "I know what P.P.P. stands for."

* * *

 **Hey guys! Chapter 8 is here, and it's a plot heavy one! I'm sorry that there's not much action in this chapter, but I promise more is coming in the near future! Speaking of which...due to the fact that I will be traveling and then studying for exams over the next few weeks, there might be a dip in the amount I update, which means likely only one chapter instead of two per week, as I simply can't write as much in the shortened amount of time without the quality dropping off significantly. I'm sorry, but I hope that you guys will all continue to enjoy the story even though it comes out a bit more slowly. Thanks again for all of the support, it means a lot to me! If you have any questions/comments feel free to leave a review, as I try to reply to most of them.**


	9. Chapter 9

-Chapter 9-

Nick groaned. The alarm clock beeped loudly, signalling that it was time for him to find a way to pull himself out of bed. He hadn't even tried to move yet, but already his body was incredibly sore from everything that had happened yesterday. He turned over, slapping his alarm clock off. Nick reached for his phone, groggily dragging it off of his night stand. He double tapped the screen, turning on the display. 6:31am. To his surprise, he had two notifications from Judy to respond to.

 _plz come to the ZPD asap,_ the first text read. His eyebrow raised as he scrolled down to the second message. _i figured out what ppp means_

The fox hectically threw the covers off the bed. He dashed over to his closet, practically ripping the handle off of the door. He grabbed his uniform, putting it on as quickly as he could. He didn't bother tying the tie, as that was something he could do on his walk over. This was the first time that he had ever gotten a text from Judy about work, which meant that she had found something serious. The messages were also dated from fifteen minutes ago, which meant that Judy was probably already waiting for him at HQ. He grabbed a package of blueberries and a small cup of meat bites, and ran out the door. Sprinting past the other apartments, Nick reached the end of the hallway.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed exasperatedly, as he read the out of order sign on the elevator. They still hadn't fixed it from the day before. Reluctantly, Nick dashed for the stairs, hopping down as many as he could at a time. Flight after flight, he desperately ran, panting heavily. He had finally reached the bottom. After a moment of recovery he continued running through the lobby, bursting through the doors and stumbling into the street. He pulled his tie out of his pocket, balancing the blueberries and meat bites in his off hand, and started in the direction of the police station. He looped the tie around his neck, flinging it about with his free hand while simultaneously running. He rounded the corner and hurried off down the street, the animals around him all staring.

* * *

Judy sipped her drink as she leaned against the couch in the lobby at the ZPD HQ. "Mmmm..." she breathed as she drank the warm beverage. "I'll be honest, Etson, this coffee was a great surprise to wake up to."

Etson waved off her comment. "Please, it was zhe least I could do after you let me stay for zhe night," he told her.

"What did you even put in here to make it taste so good?" she questioned, staring into the mixture. "I didn't think I had anything like this in my kitchen."

The raccoon smiled. "I had to get creative," he replied. "Zhat is all I will say."

"You're going to have to show me how to make it," Judy said as she took another sip. "Gosh, so good!"

Suddenly, two of the glass doors flung open, a fox busting through. Everyone in the room turned to face the commotion.

"Ah, there he is!" Judy remarked, grinning. "And only..." she glanced at her phone, "twenty one minutes after I texted you."

Nick walked over to Etson and Judy, completely out of breath. He bent over, gasping for air.

"Heh...zomeone is out of shape," Etson commented sarcastically.

"Hey!" Clawhauser yelled from the reception desk. "Did you seriously just say that? Just because I'm over here, doesn't mean I can't hear you talking about-oh," he stopped mid sentence. "You weren't talking about me, weren't you?" he asked embarrassedly. They both shook their heads no.

"I...mean...if the shoe fits," Nick mumbled quietly between breaths. Even when completely depleted of oxygen he was cracking jokes.

"Stop it, that's mean," Judy whispered to Nick, slapping him on the wrist. "You're lucky he didn't hear that,"

"Didn't hear what?" Clawhauser piped up.

"Nozhing!" Etson quickly hollered back.

Clawhauser stared suspiciously at them for a moment. He put two fingers up to his eyes and flashed them back and forth between the three animals, mouthing the words, "I'm watching you." He turned away, his attention now focused on the unopened box of donuts that was sitting atop his desk.

"Oh, by the way," Judy said, looking across at Nick as she sipped her coffee. "I like your tie."

Nick quickly looked down at his chest. He sighed, putting a paw to his face. In his haste, he had grabbed the wrong tie. Now, instead of the usual monocolor black, he wore a dark blue with thin horizontal green and white stripes.

"You almost made it, too," Judy teased, shaking her head in sarcastic disapproval. "I wonder what Bogo will say."

"If he has the slightest sliver of fashion sense," Nick replied, "then he'll love it."

"Yes," she took another sip from her mug, "just like he loved when you refused to take off your sunglasses the other day."

"Okay, that time it was just him being irrational," Nick argued. "I mean, how does he expect me to be a smooth cop without cool sunglasses?"

"I don't know...Maybe you could take lessons from me," Judy suggested, smirking.

Nick laughed. "You're such a dumb bunny," he said, playfully messing up the fur on her head with his paw.

Etson glanced back and forth between the two partners as they chatted, amazed by the chemistry that they had. _They're so perfect for each other,_ he thought to himself, smiling. He wondered if they had ever considered the prospect of becoming a couple before.

"So, Carrots, you still haven't told me why I'm here so early," Nick said, popping one of the blueberries into his mouth. "I trust that I didn't miss breakfast for nothing."

"Right," Judy replied, putting down her empty mug to pick up the pile of papers that was lying on the coffee table. "Let's go into the office to discuss it."

* * *

"Here it is," Judy said, plopping a packet of paper on the desk. "All of the info about the Prey Protection Program we could possibly need."

"How did you figure this out again?" Nick wondered, leaning back in his chair as he always did.

"One of my sisters mentioned it while I was chatting with my parents," Judy answered. "She was doing some history homework on it."

"Huh. That's lucky," Nick remarked, scanning through all of the info in the packet Judy had just plopped on his desk. "So, why didn't this come up when we Zoogled it?"

"We only searched for P.P.P." Judy replied, "This program was referred to as the Triple P. If we had used different keywords we would have gotten it."

Nick kept reading through the papers. "So, from what I understand, this was some government program that did some stuff with equality," he said. "What does any of this have to do with our case?"

"It means we have a motive," Judy explained. "Whoever did this...they did it to bring equality."

"Hm. So equality means defacement of the property of predators now," Nick commented bleakly. The whole time they had known that this type of motive was a possibility, but to have it actually confirmed was the equivalent of a punch to Nick's gut. "What a great world we live in."

Judy sighed. "Well, that's why we're here, right?" she consoled him, putting her paw on his shoulder. "To make the world a better place."

Etson stood there, listening to Judy's explanation for the second time. He had been suspicious about the truth of her hypothesis when she told him last night, and he was having the same doubts again now. He went over the facts again in his head. Something just didn't add up.

"I don't know about zhis, guys," he admitted, his arms crossed. "I zhink you are reading into zhis too much. Zhe P.P.P. spraypaint shouldn't be evidence of who did zhis," he proposed, adding, "It could just be zhem trying to mislead us."

"What do you mean, Etson?" Judy asked, her eyebrow raised.

"I don't know," Etson answered, sighing. "I just have zhis feeling zhat we're going down zhe wrong pazh here. We had a good lead on Fasco...and now we're just throwing it away, it feels like."

Nick looked over at Etson. He still was annoyed that he was doing the investigation with them. The only thing he had offered them was to show them a clip of Fasco, which Nick still viewed as waste a time. He knew Fasco was shady, like all politicians, but a criminal? Nick didn't think so. Investigating him was a waste of time, especially now that Judy had figured out the real motive of whoever had done this.

Etson looked back at Nick, who was staring at him as he leaned back in his chair. He wasn't sure what the fox thought of him, as he was sure to leave very few of his emotions easily accessible, making it difficult for Etson to get a sense of what was going through his head. The only thing Etson really knew about him (aside from his obviously caustic attitude) was that they disagreed about Fasco's role in the vandalizations. To Etson, it seemed obvious that Fasco was the one behind whatever was going on, but he could tell Nick didn't feel the same way.

"Look, I know that you're convinced about Fasco," Nick started, sitting up in his chair and leaning over the desk. "But logically it doesn't make sense. Fasco has no business burning down property, and if he did, he wouldn't go about it during an election period when his action is under heavy scrutiny."

"If he felt zhreatened enough he might," Etson retorted. "He was taking care of two immediate zhreats to whatever it is he is trying to do."

"I would hardly call you or Clare a threat," Nick argued calmly. "And vandalizing those houses would only serve to make sure that he drew attention to himself, which, as I mentioned earlier, is not good for him."

Judy kept thumping her foot as she thought. "Maybe," she proposed, "you're both right."

Nick and Etson looked at each other questioningly before looking back to Judy.

"It makes sense. Fasco is an outspoken prey rights advocate. He could be paying someone off to do this for him," Judy explained.

"Do you _really_ think he would do something like this, though?" Nick asked sincerely.

"It's possible. And currently," she said, "it's the most likely possibility we have."

Nick sighed. This case was turning out to be bigger than he had expected. This was supposed to be a simple "catch the bad guy" type of case...not another government scandal.

"So, what is zhe plan?" Etson inquired. "Are we still going to meet wizh zhe beaver zhat we talked about yesterday? Zhe one wizh zhe info on Omar."

"I think..." Judy pulled out her notebook, reading over all of the case info. "That sounds good. Is that okay with both of you?"

"That depends," Nick replied, a grin appearing on his face, "are you driving us there?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "Never heard that one before," she said. "Can't you do better than that?"

"Aww, c'mon Carrots, it's a classic," Nick playfully rebutted, "It's like Elvis Preysley or the Moleing Stones."

"Or Guns and Rodents," Etson added.

"Exactly! Etson gets it. Classics like that never age. Bunnies like you not being able to drive will always be funny."

"Oh good," Judy said sarcastically. "I was worried for a second that you had run out of things to make fun of me for."

"Don't worry, Carrots, " Nick assured her as they started to walk out of the office. "I'm sure you'll give me some new material soon."

Etson snorted. Judy just shook her head, smiling, and stepped out the door.

* * *

Judy knocked on the door, the three of them waiting for a response. Nothing happened. Judy knocked again, slightly more forcefully this time.

"Are you sure this is the right house?" Judy asked, not quite confident in Nick's navigation abilities.

"Am I sure? Carrots, would I ever let you down?" he questioned. Judy opened her mouth to start to reply. "Don't answer that."

The door suddenly swung open. A beaver stood in the door frame, wearing thick glasses and a pink t-shirt. "May I help you?" she asked, her tone annoyed.

"Hi there! Officer Hopps, ZPD," she introduced herself, extending her paw.

"Nick Wilde, ZPD. Pleasure to meet you," he said likewise.

Suspiciously, the beaver shook their paws. "I'm Lila, thanks," she replied, glancing at each of the three mammals who had shown up. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We have some questions, you see, about a certain mammal you may have been close with," Judy started.

The beaver let out a sigh. "Joe? Or Omar, or whatever his name is?"

"Yes, that's the one," Judy confirmed.

"Not ready to talk about him. Sorry Officers," she responded, moving to close the door.

"Wait!" Judy pleaded. "It's for a really important case that we're super close to cracking. Could you please reconsider?"

"Look, rabbit, I'm not interested in talking about that scumbag. Have a nice day," she went to close the door.

"But we need you!" Judy blurted out quickly, desperately trying to convince the beaver. "We hate Omar too. We just need your help. Please."

Lila looked Judy and Nick in the eye for a moment.

"Fine," she said. The three of them immediately perked up, excited that she had accepted. "But," the beaver emphasized, "the fox and raccoon... stay outside."

Their faces all sunk, the excitement of moments earlier fleeing. A grim realization set in as to what Lila was actually asking. She didn't want to be interviewed...by predators.

"Um..." Judy mumbled. She looked at both of her partners, her ears drooping. Were they okay with this?

Nick and Etson both nodded at her.

"We understand ma'am. We'll wait here for you to finish with Officer Hopps," Nick respectfully said.

Lila gave a half-hearted smile, a thinly veiled attempt at hiding her discontent for the fox. "Come right on in, Officer," she said. Timidly, Judy looked back at her partners as she walked through the door frame. As the door shut, Nick let out a large sigh. He walked down the front steps that led up to the entrance, seemingly unaffected. Etson stood there in a mix of disbelief and disappointment as the fox began to walk up the street.

"Where are you going?" Etson asked.

"For a walk," Nick answered nonchalantly. Etson hurried down the steps, catching up to walk alongside Nick. The fox didn't acknowledge his presence, keeping his eye fixed on the sidewalk in front of him.

Etson kicked a pebble down the street, in equal parts due to boredom and frustration. He let out a sigh, and turned to look at Nick.

"Did...did zhat whole zhing back zhere...bozher you?" Etson questioned sincerely. He and Nick both knew that they had been asked to leave because of the fact that they were predators. In some ways, it didn't surprise him. It was a beaver who was living alone allowing animals who could potentially harm her into her house. But they were still police officers. They were supposed to be upholding the law, serving and protecting. If anything, logically it made her more safe to have him and Nick.

Nick kept looking forward. "Not really," he admitted. Over time he had become accustomed to the fact that he was going to be prejudiced against. Now he took instances of discrimination with a grain of salt, accepting them as a part of his life.

"Well," Etson started, kicking the rock again. "It bozhered me."

"I've learned," Nick replied, "that things like that aren't worth getting bothered over."

"I know, I know..." Etson sighed as he stared at the ground. He kicked the rock again, but this time it fell into a nearby sewer grate. "Do you ever wonder...what makes zhem so... scared of us?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. Teeth. Claws. Stigmas perpetuated by the media."

"I just don't get it," Etson said, shaking his head angrily. "Why do zhey hold onto zhings like zhat? It's so clearly wrong."

"Bad habits are hard to break," Nick responded apathetically. He had spent years being angry at injustice, but after a while he had simply given up. Being angry at the wrong didn't do any good. Not caring about the issue was the best way to cope with it. "I have it half as bad as you do, though" Nick confided in the raccoon, turning his head to the right to look at him. "I have to show them my fangs before they get scared," Nick said. "You just have to talk."

Etson's shoulders slouched, his head tilting downward to face the concrete. Sadly, Nick was right. To most animals in Zootopia, Alimandish citizens were tied to high amounts of crime and civil unrest. From what they could see from the news broadcasts on their televisions, Alimand was nothing more than a constant wave of protests and police brutality. The stigma was so ingrained in the mammals that Etson could often pick out the exact moment in a conversation when someone would begin to distrust him. As soon as they identified his accent, their faces would contort from a smile or laugh to a sudden frown or uneasy sigh. Etson had made something of a game out of it. The longer he could go into a conversation without someone making what he dubbed "the face," the better his Zootopian was getting. When he had first started speaking the language, he often couldn't get past the first syllable of a word, but now he could last for a good few sentences before being recognized.

"You...you know...when I first moved here," Etson told Nick, swallowing heavily. "Zhings were a lot, lot worse."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I didn't know any Zootopian. I...couldn't talk to any of the kids at school. Aside from my parents...I..." he was finding it difficult to force out the words, "I was totally alone."

Nick looked at Etson sympathetically. He too knew that feeling.

"It made me so...so frustrated. All I wanted was zomeone...anyone... to talk to," Etson continued, eyes fixed on the ground. "I sat in the corner alone every recess...never able to understand what the other kids were saying."

Nick kept looking at the raccoon. He hadn't expected Etson to open up like this to him.

"So I decided to change zhat," Etson kept telling the story. "I committed myself to learning zhe language. I brought a notebook to school. Every time someone said a word I didn't know, I wrote it down," he recalled. "We didn't have a computer at home, so I would stay after school for hours translating words and making note cards. I worked so hard to learn the language, Nick. Ozher kids were playing games outside...and I would stay inside practicing for hours and hours," he told the fox. "I guess...I guess I zhought zhat maybe...maybe if I could talk to zhe ozher kids...zhen maybe zhey would be my friends," Etson said, shaking his head. "I was so naïve back zhen."

Nick knew the look in Etson's eyes. He saw it in himself, whenever he remembered his own past. "What...what happened?"

"Well...one day I finally felt courageous enough to try and talk to one of zhem." Etson started recounting to Nick his memory. It had all happened on the recess area, when the kids were having a break from their classes. Some kids were on swings, others playing on slides or bouncing a ball on the ground.

 _Etson, tapping his fingers together anxiously, walked up to a zebra who was standing in the field by himself._

 _"Uh, eeckcooseh me..." Etson introduced himself nervously. "What iz your nayem?"_

 _The zebra raised an eyebrow. "What...what did you just say?"_

 _Etson started breathing more heavily. Nervously, he repeated, as clearly as he could, "What iz your nayem?"_

 _The zebra smirked at first, and then started laughing. "Hey everybody!" he called out. The whole schoolyard turned to look at the small raccoon, who was now bent over with fear. "This guy talks funny!"_

 _Curiously, they all came over, forming a circle around him. "Say something, coony!" one of them urged. "Do it!" another encouraged._

 _Panickedly, Etson looked around at the large group that had formed around him. This wasn't what he wanted. "I is zoory!" he yelped. "I joost want say hallo!"_

 _The other animals all began howling with laughter. "He sounds so dumb!" a rhino yelled from the crowd. "Go back to dumpster diving, coon!"_

 _"Yeah, he doesn't even know how to talk right!" a bunny in the group agreed._

 _Etson turned and started to run, crying hysterically. Why were they doing this to him? All he wanted was to be their friend. Vision blurred from the tears, he ran as fast as he could. He didn't see the tree root below him, and tripped and fell flat on his face, scraping up his knees, causing everyone in the group to only laugh more. He turned back to look at them, wiping the tears off of his face, and sprinted as far away as he could. He had worked so hard for this. The hours in the library...the time with the flashcards...they meant nothing. He had learned a language to be less lonely, but he was more alone than ever._

 _He collapsed against a wall, burying his head in his knees. He couldn't stop sobbing. He just wanted to disappear, wishing that the mask on his face could actually hide how he felt._

 _Etson felt a paw on his shoulder. He quickly looked up to see who it was, rubbing the tears off his furry face._

 _"Are...are you okay?" the deer asked him. "You fell pretty hard back there."_

 _Etson stared blankly at the deer, not able to come up with a response._

 _"I'm Terrance," he smiled, helping Etson to his feet. "What's your name?"_

"Terrance..." Etson gulped, "Terrance was zhe reason I kept going to school. He and I...we were best friends, to put it briefly. He helped me learn Zootopian, and I would teach him how to play different Alimandish games. And zhen..." Etson paused, trying not to get emotional. "Zhen...zhen zhings happened...and...we were...separated."

Nick looked at Etson as he finished telling the story. He could see that the raccoon was trying to hold back tears. Nick looked down at the sidewalk. When he had first started living on the streets, he had thought that his story was special. But the more that his so-called "business ventures" brought him into contact with other animals, the more he realized that his story wasn't as unique as he thought it was. Nearly every predator he talked to told him that they had struggled with insecurities about themselves as a kid. Some had been shunned by fellow classmates for being perceived as dangerous, while others had been discriminated against by teachers. In practically every case, it resulted in them feeling incredibly unsafe about who they were, going to great lengths to remedy the perceived flaws in their "biology." Etson's story, to Nick, was no different.

"Etson," Nick said sincerely, looking the raccoon in the eyes, "thank you for sharing that with me."

Etson wiped his face, stopping the tears from flowing.

"I wonder how zhe interview is going," Etson remarked, his eyes on the sidewalk, pretending as though nothing had happened.

* * *

"Wow, Lila, you have such a beautiful home," Judy complemented, trying to earn the respect of the beaver. "I love the decorating here."

"You can cut the nice cop act, Officer Jumps, or whatever your name is," Lila replied hotly. "You got me to agree to be interviewed. Let's just get it over with."

Judy suppressed a sigh. Now was not the time to be hot-headed and start an argument.

"Of course, ma'am," Judy responded politely. She pulled out her notebook and carrot pen, ready to start writing. "So...let's start with your relationship with Omar."

"He was my boyfriend," she replied. "He just moved in with me a couple months ago. He told me that it was because he wanted to take the next step in our relationship. But now I know that it was because he needed a place to hide from the cops."

"Wait, you didn't know he was a wanted criminal?" Judy asked. That seemed like pretty vital info to share with anyone that you were close to.

"Nope. Had no idea," she answered. She started drifting off, reminiscing. "That was quite the shock, I have to admit," she shook her head. "One year. One year I believed in his fake identity. For a whole year he tricked me into thinking I was loved. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"No...I'm afraid I don't," Judy answered, taken aback by the beaver's story. "I'm so sorry. Omar was a terrible mammal."

"You're telling me. I hope that he's behind bars for the rest of his life," she exclaimed angrily. "Making animals like me into his puppets like that...It's disgusting."

Judy nodded in agreement. "Well, he's going to be in jail for a long time, I can tell you that" she assured the beaver. She decided to start asking some more questions. "So…you said Omar moved in…a few months ago?"

"The day after the Bellwether case broke," she replied. "That's when he asked me. Why do you need to know?"

"Just trying to get some background on the situation," Judy calmly answered, pretending as though there had been no intended hostility in the beaver's words. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a photo. "At any point over the past few weeks did you happen to see this briefcase?"

"That?" she asked. Lila moved in closer to examine the photograph. "Yes, I've seen it. It was lying in our closet for a few months."

"Well, he handed off the briefcase to a certain suspicious mammal," Judy told her. "And we're trying to figure out what was inside."

Lila chuckled. "And you expect me to know that information?"

Judy ignored her comment, continuing on to her next question. "Did you notice or find anything suspect while living with him that he may have wanted to put in the briefcase?"

"Actually…" Lila started, pausing to recall the incident. "There was one thing. I was doing his laundry for him, like I always did. I went to put away his underwear in his drawer…and found something underneath all of the clothes."

"What was it?"

"Papers. There was a stack about this thick," she held her fingers about a centimeter or so apart for scale. "I flipped through and looked at each sheet," Lila continued,"but I couldn't understand any of it."

Judy raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"It was all scientific jargon," she responded. "Complicated chemical formulas and terminology I didn't understand."

"Was there anything about them that you could understand? Could you glean what they were talking about? Anything?" Judy questioned.

"Nope. Never was all that good at science."

Judy tapped her chin with her pen, thinking about what Lila was saying. If the papers had to do with cerebral function, then they were probably related to night howlers. "When did you find these papers?"

"About a week or so ago," Lila said.

"And are they still there?"

The beaver looked back at her strangely. "I'm…not really sure. I haven't checked since then."

"Would you mind if we took a look together right now?" Judy asked. If the papers weren't there…then she was reasonably sure that they had been given to Fasco. And if they were scientific papers, as Lila had suggested, then that would mean that Nick would be right. Fasco was just trying to get more info for the board of research in a way that wouldn't ruin his reputation.

"I guess not," Lila replied. "Follow me."

Lila and Judy got up out of their chairs. The beaver led the bunny down the hallway into an empty room. There were clothes on the floor and the bed wasn't made. Judy guessed that it hadn't been touched since Omar had left.

"The papers were in here," Lila told Judy, opening up a drawer in the dresser. She started going through all of the clothes, taking them out of the drawer. Judy peered over the beaver's shoulder, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"What's that?" Judy asked, pointing at what looked to be a slip of paper at the bottom of the drawer.

Lila pulled out the paper, handing it to Judy. The bunny quickly grabbed it and started scanning over the paper. From what she could tell, it seemed to be an excerpt of whatever scientific writing Omar had done. She kept reading, when two words jumped out on the page at her.

 _Mindicampium holysithius,_ Judy read, a lightbulb going off in her head. _That's the scientific name for night howlers!_

She read over the rest of the page, trying to understand what she could, but there wasn't much else that was actually intelligible. Besides, the page had been left three quarters blank, which Judy presumed to be a sign that this page had been left on the bottom of the stack. Omar had likely been in a rush and had left the paper in his haste.

Judy glanced up from the paper to look at the beaver. "This is a huge clue," Judy told her. "Is it okay if we take this to use as evidence?"

"Please do," Lila said. "I'm going to get rid of all of his stuff anyways. Don't want any reminders of that piece of garbage."

Judy nodded. "You've been such a huge help. Thank you for your time," Judy affirmed, shaking the beaver's paw.

"Make sure Omar gets justice for me, okay?" Lila told the rabbit as she headed for the front door. Judy turned the knob, and headed out onto the steps, where Nick and Etson were sitting.

"Remember, ten life sentences, Officer Jumps! Got it?" Lila shouted from her door.

"I'm no lawyer," Judy responded, "but I'll see what I can do. Bye!"

Judy waved as the door shut.

"Officer Jumps, eh?" Nick remarked, grinning. "That's a pretty good one. Maybe I should use it sometime."

Judy glared at him. "I let you get away with 'Carrots,'" she told him. "Don't push it."

"Whatever you say, Officer Bounces," Nick smugly replied.

Judy just sighed. He was the best kind of annoying to have to put up with, but still he was still annoying to put up with nonetheless.

"So...do we have any new leads?" Etson inquired, pointing to the paper in Judy's paws.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I know what was in the briefcase, for what it's worth."

Both Nick and Etson's ears stood up. "What was it?" Etson curiously asked.

"Night howler research. One of the pages that was supposed to go in the briefcase got left in that apartment," Judy explained, handing them the paper.

Nick and Etson grabbed it and read over it together. Their eyes moved back and forth as they read line after line.

"Uh...zhis doesn't make any sense to you eizher, right?" Etson said, looking at Nick for confirmation.

"Nope. I was hoping you would understand it," Nick joked. He handed the paper back to Judy. "So how do we know that this was in the briefcase?"

"That's the thing...we don't _know_ that it was in there," Judy confessed, biting her lip. "It's just an educated guess. But it's the best thing we've got."

Nick sighed. More loose ends that they would somehow have to find a way to tie together. It seemed that nearly every clue they got was based on an educated guess, which made him nervous about how much they actually _knew_ about their suspect. "Alright, so what does this mean for solving the crime?"

"I'm not sure. I think we should go back to HQ and go over all of the points again and see if we can tie all of this info together somehow. We might have enough info to make a guess as to where they're going to strike next."

Etson's eyebrows raised at the mention of HQ. He needed to visit City Hall at some point today to collect his money, and it just so happened that it was on the route back to the ZPD building.

"Uhmm, zhis is... awkward, but could you maybe drop me off at City Hall so zhat I can wizhdraw my prize money?" Etson squeamishly asked. He was trying hard not to tap his fingers together. "I don't want to have to intrude at Judy's place another night."

Judy and Nick looked at each other. Nick made a slight nod of approval.

"I don't see why not," Judy answered, shrugging.

"You guys are zhe best," Etson responded, smiling. "Seriously, zhank you."

"Of course," Judy replied. "After all, what are friends for?"

* * *

 **BOOM! Next chapter is out. Still not a lot of action in this chapter, I know, but I really want to make sure that these characters are really well developed as we get into the really juicy chapters. I hope you guys are all enjoying the story. Please, please leave a review on what you think! I love hearing feedback and try to personally respond to all reviews.**


	10. Chapter 10

-Chapter 10-

Etson waved goodbye to the police cruiser as it sped down the street. He turned and looked upward, taking in the grandeur of the city hall building. He took a deep breath, fixing the fur on his head to appear as nice as he possibly could. Confidently, he walked up the large, stone steps that led to town hall. The building itself was truly magnificent, featuring a series of intricate stone columns, holding up a golden dome atop of which the Zootopian flag - bottom half yellow, top half white, with a light blue circle in the middle - was blowing proudly in the wind. Etson had only ever observed city hall from the outside, never quite courageous enough to go inside, for the fear of deportation. Today, though, was unlike those days in the past. Today, he was going to become a citizen.

As he reached the top of the steps, Etson walked through a massive doorway, the heavy door ornately carved and made from what he took to be a fine mahogany wood. He stepped into the main lobby area, massive ceilings, marble floors and all. He filed into the small queue that was in front of the reception desk. Staring around the room, he had a hard time keeping his mouth from gaping, the raccoon in pure awe at the grandeur of the place. A few animals in front of him scurried off in different directions as directed by the secretary, shortening the line.

"Next!" the armadillo yelled from behind the desk. Etson stepped up in line. "How may I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Etson," he introduced himself, "and I was wondering if I could speak to zhe mayor about collection of a certain prize I am due?"

As Etson began to speak, he noticed that those who were standing in line behind him turned to stare at him. What was a dangerous Alimandish person doing at city hall, especially after the two Alimandish attacks that had happened the day before? Whether they meant to or not, they instinctively recoiled away from the raccoon, noticeably frightened. As much as Etson tried to ignore them, it still bothered him how scared they were of him.

"Ah yes, we've been waiting for you," the armadillo said, fiddling with something in the drawer of her desk. Surprisingly, the receptionist hadn't seemed fazed at all when Etson began talking, unlike the other animals. "Take this," she told him, handing the raccoon a lanyard with a card on the end of it. "That should prevent security from giving you any problems. You see that elevator over there?" she asked, pointing across the room. Etson nodded. "You're going to want to take that to floor number five. Mayor's office is at the end of the hall. Got all that?"

"Yes, zhank you," Etson replied, smiling in spite of all of the people in line that were scowling at him.

"No problem. Next!" the armadillo yelled. Etson walked over to the elevator, which a security guard was standing in front of. He showed the card on his lanyard, causing the guard to move to the side. Etson pressed the up button, waiting for the elevator to come down. The doors dinged open, and he stepped inside. He pressed the five button as the doors closed. As the elevator rose, Etson enjoyed the upbeat jazz that was coming through the speakers. Resisting the urge to dance, he waited until the elevator dinged and the doors opened once again. He stepped out into a large hallway, the impressive marble floors and intricate design continuing through to the top floor. The hallway had offices on both sides, with the mayor's office being the focal point at the end of the hallway, just as the armadillo had said. Etson started walking down the hallway, checking his reflection in the squeaky clean floor tiles to make sure he looked half decent. His body language conveying a newfound sense of boldness, Etson started his walk towards the mayor's office. He raised his arm, and knocked twice on the door.

After a moment, the door opened, showing a brown-furred rabbit wearing a suit. He glanced up at Etson for a moment, cocking his head to the side as he tried to put a name to the raccoon's face. His face suddenly lit up, a sign he had found a match.

"You are Etson, the one responsible for the apprehension of Omar, correct?" the bunny asked him.

Etson nodded. "That's me."

"Perfect," he said, turning his attention down to his tablet. He quickly tapped some commands on the screen, and looked back up at Etson. "The mayor will see you now." The rabbit opened up the door fully, holding it open for the raccoon.

"Zhank you," Etson said to the rabbit. He walked up to the mayor's desk, which had arguably the best view in all of Zootopia. The capitol building was up on top of a hill, meaning that it was on the same level as all of the skyscrapers in the city. Etson was able to see all of the different districts of the city from the window, in a truly awesome sight.

"Ah, hello there Etson!" the interim mayor greeted, extending her paw over the desk. Etson shook it firmly. "Please, take a seat," she motioned to the empty chair across from her. Etson accepted the invitation and sat down. He admired the outfit that the kangaroo was wearing, which was a sleek black dress with a red jewel necklace.

"So, let's get right to the point, shall we? I am able to write the check right now for you if you'd like. I just need your confirmation that you want all of it delivered via check," the kangaroo explained. "Is that still what you want to do?"

"Actually," Etson responded, "is zhere any way zhat I could maybe get a couple hundred of zhe prize money in cash?" He wanted some money for things like a hotel and food over the next few days while he set up a bank account and got some credit cards.

"Yes, we can do that," she answered. "How much would you like in cash?"

"Five hundred."

"Okay. Secretary Coney, did you get that?" she asked, addressing the bunny who had welcomed Etson.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, tapping the info into his tablet.

"So you'll be receiving five hundred in cash, and the remaining forty nine thousand five hundred in the form of a check, which Coney will give to you after we're finished here," the mayor continued her explanation. "Now, as for passport...we just need a photo of you to complete the process. Thanks to Mr. Coney, who was able to get your file from the Alimandish embassy and input the data from it into the citizenship forms, you don't have to do any paperwork."

"Wait," Etson interrupted, turning around in his chair to face Coney. "How did he know what to look me up as?

Coney smirked. "That part was hard. The mayor only told me the nickname you go by," he explained. "I was still able to find you through your parents' records, though."

"Huh. Not bad. I'm impressed," Etson admitted. He had been using his nickname for the past seven year, even going so far as to use it on official government forms. "You're one of two or zhree animals zhat knows zhat name."

"Really?" Coney replied, raising his eyebrows. "Well, in that case, I assure you I'll guard it closely."

"Well, Etson, aside from that...I think you're pretty much good to go," the mayor said. "Is there anything else you can think of that I'm missing, Coney?" she questioned her secretary.

"The photo, ma'am," the rabbit reminded her.

"Ah, yes, of course," the mayor said, nodding her head. "Would you mind posing for a photograph with me?"

"Um, sure," Etson answered. He had been worried enough that he looked out of place at the regal city hall, but knowing this photo was going to be on the news networks made him even more anxious about his appearance. Still, it wasn't like he could turn down the offer.

"Just stand here, like this," Coney took his arm and rotated his body slightly. He did the same for the mayor, positioning them both in the ideal spot. "Okay, now shake hands...just like that. Perfect," he pointed his tablet at the two of them. "Three...two...one...cheese!"

They both smiled as the picture was snapped, the view of the city behind them.

"Wonderful," Coney said, looking at the photo. He kept busily tapping the screen. "Okay...and then we do this...aaand done! It's up on the city hall's Zwitter, Snapcat, and ChaseBook."

"Wait," Etson said, suddenly realizing something, "you actually would post a picture with me in it? Isn't zhat-"

"Bad for PR?" the mayor finished his thought for him. "Yes, I can understand why you would think that. Two attacks by Alimandish citizens in the past day would mean that animals wouldn't respond well to seeing their mayor with an Alimandish mammal," she said in a very matter-of-fact tone. The kangaroo turned to look out of the window, her paws clasped together behind her back. "I've thought about this same thing a lot over the past day...And I keep coming back to the same conclusion," she told the raccoon, gazing off into the the distance. "What kind of mayor would I be...if I...if I didn't acknowledge a city hero just because of who they were? What kind of message does that send? I would never be able to justify something like that to myself," she admitted as she turned to face Etson again. "Which is why I chose to grant you citizenship. Because to me..." she paused, looking Etson right in the eye, "there's a lot more to being Zootopian than the location where you were born."

Etson smiled. Over the course of this whole ordeal, his admiration for Mayor Pawleen had only grown. He knew before, but more so now, that she was a genuinely good animal, which was a rare trait among politicians.

"You also forgot to mention," her secretary interjected, "that you can basically do whatever you want because you're going to be out of office in a few months regardless."

The mayor let out a large sigh, followed by a hearty chuckle. "Yes, Coney. Thanks for bringing that up," she said, shaking her head. "Why don't you go and get Etson his passport now?"

The rabbit grinned. "Of course, ma'am," he complied. "Follow me, please, Etson."

"Okay," Etson agreed, as he turned to exit with his guide. "Oh, and Mayor Pawleen," Etson piped up, suddenly turning around. The mayor looked at him quizzically. "Zhank you," he told her. "For... everyzhing."

"Of course," she smiled. "The city could use more animals like you."

And with that, Coney led Etson out into the hallway.

* * *

"Smile!" Coney told the raccoon as he snapped the photo. "Excellent. You look good. Now we just have to print the booklet itself," Coney said as he punched more info into the computer.

Coney had led Etson down to the underground floor, where the printing machine for the passports was located. Coney pressed another button on the computer, causing the mechanism to begin to whirr. Etson watched in amazement as the machine went to work, printing and stitching and binding in what appeared to be an incredibly intricate process. It must have taken a long time to perfect this process. The machine gradually stopped, spitting out the passport.

"Here you go," Coney said, handing Etson the finished product. Eagerly, the raccoon snatched it from him.

So this was it. He was finally a citizen of Zootopia. It felt so surreal to him, so much so that a part of him still couldn't believe that it was actually happening. He kept staring at the pale blue book, the front decorated with golden letters proclaiming ZOOTOPIA in a very official-looking serif font. Below that was the insignia of Zootopia - a paw print that was half clawed and half hooved - in the same golden color. He kept running his fingers over the passport, as if to convince himself that it was actually real.

"I also have this for you," Coney said, reaching into his suitcoat. He pulled out a wad of cash, crowned by a check on top. "Don't go spending it all in one place."

Etson laughed. "I will try not to," he replied. "Zhank you again, Coney."

"No problem," the rabbit said. He glanced down at his watch, and his ears jumped up. "Oh jeez. I need to leave to set up an appointment for the mayor about that skunk pride parade," he told Etson, scurrying towards the door. "Take care!"

"Goodbye!" Etson hollered as Coney dashed away. A smile creeped onto his face again as he looked down at his rewards. He had lost his cafe, yes, but at least he still had this.

Etson stepped out into the hallway, backtracking to the elevator. He stepped inside, listening again to the jazz music as he rode up to the ground floor. The elevator dinged, and he walked back into the lobby where he had entered. He proudly started to walk out towards the main entrance, passing the reception desk with the nice armadillo.

 _Wait a minute..._ Etson thought, raising an eyebrow as he turned back to the desk. _Who is that?_

There was a jaguar at the desk dressed up formally with a suit and tie. But that wasn't what caught Etson's attention.

"I...eh...hab an appointehmint wizh zhis animal," he said, handing the armadillo a slip of paper.

The armadillo read over what the jaguar had given him. "Ah, yes. You're going to want to go down that hallway and head to the office number one thirty one," the receptionist replied, motioning towards a hallway on the other side of the room. "I'll let him know that you're on the way.

"Zhank you," the jaguar said, nodding. He started walking in the direction that the armadillo had pointed him in.

After a moment, the receptionist pushed a series of buttons on the desk phone he had next to him. He picked up the device and placed it to his ear.

"Fasco," he said. Etson's eyes widened at the mention of the name. "Yes. They're on their way now...Mhm...Okay. Bye now."

Fasco...had a planned interview with someone from Alimand?

He scanned around the room, checking to see if anyone in particular was watching him. Discreetly, he started walking in the same direction as the jaguar, keeping his distance so as not to seem suspicious. The jaguar entered the hallway, just as he had been directed. Etson did the same, doing his best to act naturally in spite of his increasing heart rate. The jaguar kept walking, giving no indication that he knew he was being followed. Etson stayed close to the wall, scoping out areas he could hide if for some reason the animal turned around. They kept walking, the office numbers increasing as they did. One twenty...one twenty one...one twenty two. Etson's heart thumped harder with every number.

The jaguar suddenly stopped walking. Etson instantly hid himself behind a large potted plant. The jaguar glanced to his left, and then to his right, and finally at the door of the office he had stopped at. Hesitantly, he knocked on the door. Etson restlessly watched, noting every detail. There was a tense moment of silence.

The door swung open, a small koala in the doorway.

 _Fasco_ , Etson realized. He gulped. He could feel the adrenaline in his veins.

"Ah, kol bourez. Weej, weej, nore dziemi," he told the jaguar. _Ah, here you are. Please, please, come inside._

Etson's draw dropped open. Fasco...spoke Alimandish?

The jaguar accepted his invitation and stepped into Fasco's office. Etson stared in disbelief as the door shut. Fasco - the candidate who vehemently argued for a predator registry and tighter immigration laws - had just welcomed an immigrant predator into his office using a foreign language. Etson sat there, remaining behind the plant, unable to fathom what he had just witnessed. Fasco spoke with an impeccable accent - indistinguishable from that of a native speaker.

Thoughts raced through his brain as he went through what he already knew about Fasco, desperate for some connection to the case.

 _Let's see,_ Etson thought. _Well-known politician, one of two frontrunners for mayor, associated with Omar, head of the board of research..._

The board of research. Of course! That was it!

Frantically, he rummaged through all of his pockets. As his paws went through the back pockets of his jeans, he felt what he was searching for. He pulled out a crumped piece of paper and unfolded it. Now he just needed a phone.

* * *

Nick and Judy both stared at the map in front of them, racking their brains over the details of the case. They had gone back to HQ after interviewing Lila, only to find themselves in the same spot they had been not a day before - stuck.

"Okay, let's just go over all of the details one more time," Judy said, half talking to herself and half addressing Nick. "There have been three vandalizations across town. One happened to Edvin Klosen, a foreign baker and predator. Another happened to Etson, who is Alimandish and a predator. And the last one happened to Clare, who is just a predator. However, Etson and Clare both had reasons for Fasco to target them, which places him as a likely suspect. We've also discovered that the P.P.P. symbol stands for Prey Protection Program, which Fasco may or may not be involved with. And, on top of all of this, Fasco is mysteriously developing a new drug at the chemical research plant, a project which he may or may not have gotten help from Omar," Judy finished, exhaling.

"And we may or may not be totally wrong about all of this," Nick remarked, sighing. There was no end in sight for this case, as far as he could tell. They still didn't have any suspects that they could interview, with their only one secure behind a wall of high class lawyers and in possession of enough political leverage to finagle his way out of any stranglehold they were able to get him in.

Judy shook her head. There had to be something they were missing. All it would take was one solid lead to bring the whole case crashing down, she knew it. But as of right now, their best bet was still to try to catch the criminal in the act. "Well, we still have to do something," she told Nick. "We can't just let them off the hook because it's too hard."

"You know, if this guy wasn't trying to start a pred-prey war across the city," Nick replied, "then I would actually consider that."

"Look on the bright side," Judy told him, "It will be that much sweeter when we catch them."

Nick chuckled. "C'mon, Carrots. Have I ever been one to look the bright side?" he asked. "The fact of the matter is that we're still on a wild goose chase."

"I don't know about you," Judy responded, "but I for one find chasing wild geese exciting."

"Is that some Bunnyboro thing? Chasing wild geese?"

"Yes," she answered sarcastically. "It's one of our favorite past times, right up there next to driving tractors and being prejudiced."

Nick smirked. "Sounds about right."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyways," she said, trying to redirect the conversation back on track. "Let's try and plot where they're going to strike next."

"It's going to be a predator," Nick proclaimed as he leaned back in the office chair, "I guarantee it."

"Well, at least it limits the number of potential targets we have to search through," Judy asserted.

Nick put his head on his paw and looked across at his partner. "You really always do look on the bright side, don't you?"

"What? Is that a bad thing?" Judy asked.

"No. It's just cute how positive you always are," Nick commented. Judy's face immediately shifted into a scowl.

"Don't call me cute," she snapped.

"Wait, why?" Nick asked. "What about adorable?"

"No."

"Charming?"

"No."

"Kawaii?"

"NO. Especially not that one."

"Seriously? Why not?"

Judy sighed. "It's the same reason that giraffes don't like to be called tall, or raccoons trashy, or even," she turned to look at Nick, "foxes shifty. It's a reminder that they're supposed to fit into a certain box that society makes for them. Nobody likes that feeling. You know what I'm talking about, right?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, I get it," he said. He hadn't minded the sketchy fox stereotype while he was on the street, but now that he was an officer it had actually started to impede on his work in some instances. If Judy felt the same way about being called cute, then he would refrain. "I'll stick to making fun of your ridiculous upbringing and various strange quirks."

"Thanks, I guess," she replied, laughing. She appreciated the respect Nick had for her and her feelings.

He smiled at her. "So, how else are we going to rule out potential targets?" he asked his partner.

"Well," Judy answered, "I think a good place to start would be looking for animals affiliated with Fasco."

Nick frowned. "Do we have any other options?" Nick asked. "Why don't we look for animals who have publicly spoken out against the P.P.P.?"

"We could try," Judy said, "but I doubt we'll get anything. Nobody knows what the P.P.P. is. We never told the public anything about them, remember?"

Nick had forgotten about that. He had just assumed that somehow the media would have figured it out by now. "Alright, let's look at Fasco then," he grumbled, folding his arms unhappily.

"I know you don't think it's him," Judy remarked, noticing Nick's attitude, "but it's the best we've got. Now, if I were Fasco, who would I go after?"

"Someone who would ruin your chances of becoming mayor," Nick suggested, addressing her as if she were the infamous koala. "That's the thing you care the most about right now, and it's why you went after Etson and Clare. If they spoke up...it could ruin your campaign."

"Okay, that's a good start," Judy replied. "But who could realistically pose a threat to his campaign?"

Nick shrugged. "Politicians are all con artists. The only threat to them is that someone figures them out. If someone exposed info on how Fasco was conning his voters...then he'd be sunk," Nick explained. "Not that I would know anything about being a con artist."

"Of course not," Judy replied, smirking. "So we need someone who has dirt on Fasco. But how do you find an animal like that?"

"Maybe look at his past partners," Nick suggested. "He's bound to have made slipped up at some point during his career," he said, adding, "Every con artist has a skunk butt rug type incident at some point."

Judy grinned, remembering the near death confrontation they had with Mr. Big. "Let's look at his coworkers, then."

She took her laptop out and started booting it up. After a moment of waiting, the screen came to life. Judy navigated to a webpage which displayed info on all of the government officers Zootopia had ever had, dating back to the city's creation. She typed Fasco's name into the searchbar at the top, pulling up his page.

"Okay," she said, reading over the page. "It says here his political career started when he was voted President of the Sahara Square Sanitation Committee."

"That's a prestigious office if I've ever heard one," Nick remarked. "Who else was on the committee?"

"Let's see," she replied. She opened the link that led to the list of the other members. "It looks like..."

"They're all prey animals," Nick noticed. That meant that they were all ruled out as possible targets. "What position did he hold next?"

She went back to Fasco's page and scrolled down some more.

"Chairman on the Sahara Square District Council," Judy answered. "Still no predators."

"Alright, let's try the next one," Nick offered. "The City Representative of Sahara Square. Any preds there?"

"Yes, actually," Judy said as she scrolled through the list. "Marcus Corbetti, a tiger who represented the Rainforest District."

"Go to his profile," Nick told her. She did as he asked, clicking on the link. They scanned through the page together, reading up on all of the things Corbetti had accomplished in his time as representative. As she kept reading, something caught Judy's eye.

"Look at this," Judy pointed out. "It says that he resigned from his position..." she did some figuring in her head, "exactly twenty seven days after Fasco joined the board of representatives."

"See if you can find his resignation speech," Nick told her. They might actually have a lead here if the resignation was in any way out of the ordinary.

Judy opened up a new tab, Zoogling the speech as Nick had asked. She clicked on the first result, which turned out to be a transcript of the last speech he had made to the press.

"It says here that he was having health issues," Judy noted. "But he doesn't specify anything more than that. Do you think that maybe…?" she trailed off.

"Something forced him to resign? Yes, I do think that," he responded.

"If Fasco did it, how did he pull it off?" Judy wondered. What could possibly force a well known city representative to step down, effectively ending their career?

"I don't think it matters how he did it," Nick countered. "The important thing is that he mysteriously resigned for what seems to be no reason. It wouldn't surprise me if Corbetti figured out something about Fasco, which forced Fasco to fire back."

"How do we know that one of the other committee members didn't force them to step down?" Judy asked, playing devil's advocate. "If all politicians are con artists like you say, then what makes Fasco different from any of the other members there?"

"Well, he's the biggest of the advocates for restrictions on predators among them," Nick replied. "But you have a good point. It still might not have been him. We'll never know for sure if it's him."

Judy sighed. "Well, we can add that to the pile of inconclusive evidence."

"Look on the bright side," Nick teased, "at least we have a plan."

Judy nodded in agreement. In no way were any of their circumstances ideal, but they still had to do something. "So, what's Corbetti's address?"

* * *

Etson frantically punched the number into the payphone in the phonebooth from the slip of paper in his hand, tapping his foot impatiently as it connected him to the recipient.

"Hello?" someone on the other end answered.

"Clare!" Etson greeted charismatically. "Zhis is Etson. How are you doing?"

"Oh, hi Etson," she responded. "I'm doing well. What's up?"

"Uh…" he swallowed, fingering the collar of his t-shirt nervously. "Can I talk to you about zomezhing? It's, well...kind of important."

"Important? What do you mean?" she asked.

"Erm...you see...it's zhis zhing..." Etson swallowed nervously, "about Facso."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Etson started sweating. Had he scared her off?

"Clare?"

"Yes, okay," she agreed, letting out a sigh. "You have five minutes. Just let me go somewhere private."

"You're awesome," Etson assured her, exhaling in relief.

On the other end of the line Etson heard a series of footsteps, followed by a door being shut. Clare spoke again. "Alright. This better be good."

"It is, I promise," Etson replied. "I'm just outside of city hall right now. When I was zhere, I noticed zhis jaguar wizh an Alimandish accent talking to zhe receptionist."

Clare exhaled annoyedly. "I don't see the point of you calling me over this."

"It gets better, just let me finish," Etson promised. "Zhe jaguar asked for Fasco's office, which seemed odd to me. So, I followed behind him, just to see if anyzhing was out of zhe ordinary. And zhen," Etson paused. "And zhen Fasco invited him into his office. But here's the thing — Fasco did the whole thing in perfect Alimandish. Not a single letter pronounced incorrectly."

"Okay...so Fasco speaks Alimandish. What's the big deal?"

"Fasco's zhe token anti-Alimand candidate, yet he can speak fluent Alimandish. Who would have guessed?" Etson told her excitedly. "And zhat's not even all of it. Zhe ozher day, we figured out zhat he has been passing information back and forzh wizh Omar Moufflon, Bellwether's chemist, zhrough my cafe."

"So, let me get this straight," she said, a disbelief apparent even in the tone of her voice. "He has been working with a known criminal and you haven't exposed him yet?"

"We can't expose him," Etson replied. "He has zhe best lawyers in zhe city. We'd be sued for slander in heartbeat. And technically, he hasn't done anyzhing criminal, so we can't arrest him."

"Wow," Clare responded, dumfounded. "I'll give it to you. That's pretty important. I'm not quite sure what to say."

"Neither do I," Etson admitted. "Zhat's why I called you."

"Well, I appreciate you telling me," she said, "but I don't think I can help you."

Etson frowned. He had been afraid of this. "He's your boss. Zhere has to be zomezhing zhat you noticed about him zhat was out of zhe ordinary."

"I'm sorry…" she told him. "But I've already told you everything I know. Fasco's my boss, yes, but I never interact with him. He just directs things from afar."

Etson sighed. There had to be something he could get from telling her all of this. "Alright, fine. In zhat case, just talk to me about work. Are you still working on…zhat project?" Etson asked, doing his best to dance around the sensitive topic.

"Yes…" she answered, finding the sudden shift in the conversation odd. "We've, um…actually made a lot of progress on it too. We've basically confirmed that…what we're working on…is possible to create now. We've just got to get the chemical composition right to get the desired affect."

Etson furrowed his brow, thinking intensively. "How did you guys figure out zhat it was possible?" he inquired.

"Well…we…uh," Clare replied, stumbling. "Now that you mention it, I'm not too sure. One of my colleagues just handed me a journal that proved it and told me to work on it."

"A…journal?"

"Yes," Clare confirmed, "A scientific journal. You know, the type that's hundreds of pages long and really hard and filled with chemistry terms."

"And you said that you didn't know where it came from?" he asked to be sure.

"No," she answered. "None of us do…" she paused. "But…someone did try to find out."

Etson's ears perked up. "What do you mean?"

Clare sighed. "The colleague I was telling you about earlier," she explained, "He's a pig named Jonathan. And, uh…he wanted to know where the papers came from so that he could thank whoever provided them. He…he went to talk to Fasco about it. I told him not to, but he didn't listen. 'It's a thank you card, who would be mad about that?' he told me," Clare shook her head. "I hate to say I told him so."

"Fasco yelled at him?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "The poor guy got kicked out of his office."

"Just like you…" Etson said absentmindedly, staring off into space, thoughts racing through his brain. Fasco had made an example of Clare to shut everyone up about the night howlers. What if…

His eyes widened. A lightbulb had just turned on in his head.

"Clare…" he started, "zhe information I was telling you about earlier…you know, zhe stuff Omar gave to Fasco…" Etson swallowed, grappling with the magnitude of his discovery. "It was all scientific papers."

"How is that releva—" Clare stopped mid sentence, her jaw gaping as she put the puzzle pieces together. "You…you don't mean…"

"Yes. The journal you got...I think it was written by Omar Moufflon," Etson stated.

The line fell silent.

"Oh…oh my God," Clare muttered, rendered all but speechless.

"Zhat's why Fasco yelled at your colleague. He got too close to zhe truzh," Etson explained, breathing heavily. "And now he's going to pay for it."

Silence. The words settled in as if they were the ash from an eruption, slowly and heavily falling from the sky. They both realized what this meant. If Etson was right…then their exclusive club of P.P.P. victims was about to gain another member.

"I..can't believe this. If this is all true...then...what…what do we even do? How do we stop this?" Clare asked, gradually becoming more frantic.

"I don't know," Etson replied. "But we have to do somezhing."

"But what?!" she asked, the panic now clearly in her voice.

Etson massaged his temple, thinking of the best course of action. "We have to…we have to catch zhem in the act," he claimed.

"And how are we going to do that?" Clare asked.

"Jonathan…" Etson said, "what's his address?"

* * *

 **Surprise chapter! I didn't think I would be able to finish this chapter before the end of the week, but spending ten or so hours on a plane with no distractions will let you get a lot of writing done. As always, please leave a review telling me what you think is good about the story and what you think isn't working too well. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I try to reply to every review. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

"Let me get this straight," Nick said, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation was. "You went into city hall, stalked a jaguar, uncovered that Fasco somehow speaks Alimandish, and then figured out from Clare who the next P.P.P. victim is going to be?"

"Yes," Etson confirmed, nodding his head. "I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me. I know what I saw."

"Do you have proof of any of this?" Nick asked.

"Well, no, but—"

"No 'buts.'" Nick snapped. "We need evidence if we want to do anything."

"Why isn't my word enough evidence?" Etson asked.

"Because it doesn't line up with the facts of the case," Nick explained. "The person you told us is going to be attacked next isn't even a _predator._ Can you explain to me why, exactly, the Prey Protection Program would attack someone who is prey?"

Etson looked back at Nick in disbelief. He thought he had cracked the case. He turned to Judy, eyes hopeful. Surely she would agree with him.

"I…uh, hate to say this," Judy started, causing Etson to frown. "But Nick's right." The fox grinned victoriously. "When you look at the facts of the case…it just doesn't make sense that whoever is doing this would go after a member of the prey family. So far, the only link we have is that everyone who's been attacked has been a predator," she told him regretfully. "It's the strongest lead that we have. We can't just throw that out the window."

Etson's expression shattered. "So you…you don't believe what I said?"

"No, no, that's not it at all," Judy quickly replied. "I know that what you said is true. Look, I trust you, Etson. I know you wouldn't lie to us. It's just… I'm not sure that what you've told us…solves the case," she said, his face still sunken. "I know that's hard to hear, but please don't think that it means that I don't believe in you. Because I do."

Etson's facial expression lifted slightly, but it was clear that he was still upset. He glanced down at the slip of paper he was holding, the address hastily written down. Crumpling it up and shoving it into his pocket, he let out a depleted sigh. "Okay. Where are we going?"

"You have the address, right Nick?" she asked her partner.

"Yep."

"Perfect. Let's do this," she said, beaming with confidence. They had never done a stake out before, but she'd trained enough at the Academy to know exactly how the whole procedure worked. It was simple. All they had to do was wait in the cruiser for the criminal to show up at the location and then apprehend him in the act.

The three of them walked to the police parking lot where the cruiser was parked. Judy clambered into the driver's seat, Nick climbing into shotgun next to her. Etson sat behind them, riding in the seat normally reserved for arrested criminals. The rabbit started up the car, and headed out onto the street.

Etson stared out the window as they drove, his head resting on his paw. Inside him he felt a wide variety of emotions swirling about. The elation of finally being recognized as a citizen, the excitement of solving the case and the sadness of rejection were all simultaneously competing within him for supremacy. He sighed. He had really thought that he had cracked the case. How had he been so stupid as to look over such a major detail? A pig would never be targeted. Not even Fasco would go that far. His gut feeling had gotten the better of him, and he had been completely humiliated for it.

 _I just need to clear my mind,_ Etson thought. _I just need to reboot._

There were too many things bombarding him at once. He stared at the buildings as they passed, feeling entirely numb from the sensory overload he was experiencing. He knew this part of town very well, including a particular spot he knew would help to calm him down. He could ask them to let him out here…

 _No,_ he told himself. _I promised myself I wouldn't go back there._

They were passing the area. If he was going to be asked to let out, he had to do it now.

Etson took a deep breath. As much as he told himself otherwise, he knew he _had_ to do this.

"Stop the car," Etson said, causing Judy to apply the brakes. The car behind her honked.

"What's going on?" she asked, pulling the car over to the side of the road. "Is there a problem?"

"No, err, yes…It's complicated," Etson replied. Nick and Judy glanced at each other, both confused. "There's something… private… I have to take care of here." He opened up the car door and started to hop out.

"Etson…are you okay?" Judy questioned. He hadn't seemed himself ever since he had gotten his story shot down.

"Yes," he responded calmly. "It's just some business I have to take care of. I will meet you at the address," he slammed the car door shut. "Goodbye."

He started walking down the street.

"What…what just happened?" Judy asked, turning to Nick.

"I don't know," he replied. "But it's something sketchy."

"Sketchy? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, c'mon. You don't think that he's doing something suspicious?" Nick asked her.

"You do?" Judy retorted.

"Seriously? He didn't even tell us where he was going," he exclaimed. "Nobody does that unless they're hiding something."

Judy sighed. "Why do you still think he's hiding something? He's a good animal, Nick," she argued. "He has a right to his privacy just as much as anyone else."

"I don't know, Carrots," he said. "Every time I look at him I have to remind myself of that. I know we're supposed to be cops and it's innocent before proven guilty and everything…but there's just something about him…that I don't trust," he confessed.

"But _what_ Nick? What about him don't you trust?"

"Everything, Judy!" he exclaimed. "I know you don't understand it. But when I look at him, I just _know,_ " he explained. The rabbit's face remained confused. He sighed. "Look, Carrots, I know every animal in Zootopia. I've dealt with all sorts of shady mammals on the street for the past decade. I worked for _years_ to be able to tell when someone was lying to me," he told her. "And I'm telling you right now that I know Etson is lying to us."

Judy was silent for a moment. "…what are you going to do?" she muttered. She disagreed with Nick wholeheartedly, but if he really felt that strongly about it, then she wasn't going to stop him.

"I just want to follow him and see where he goes," Nick stated calmly. "That's it."

"Fine," she conceded. Nick smiled. "But if you screw this up in any way, you take full responsibility for it. Got it?"

Nick nodded. "Sure thing, Carrots," he said. "I'll be back in a minute."

She shook her head. "You'd better be."

Nick started up the sidewalk in the direction Etson had left, scurrying to the corner of the street. Slowly, he peeked his head around the corner, scanning the street for the raccoon.

 _Ah, found him._ Nick thought. He was on the opposite side of the street, walking down a sidewalk. He glanced around him and quietly melted into the shadows of an alleyway, completely unnoticed by the rest of the animals around him.

 _What's he up to?_ Nick wondered. Carefully, he crossed the street, following after Etson. Hugging the wall of a building, Nick peered around the corner again to watch the raccoon. He disappeared into the darkness of the alleyway, just as his suspect had done moments earlier. His eyes quickly adjusted, his night vision making it easy to see everything. Etson slowly kept walking, his paws in his sweatshirt pockets. He suddenly turned around, eyes darting back and forth across the alley. Not seeing anything, he faced forward again, and kept walking.

Nick let out a sigh of relief. He had just been able to sneak behind a dumpster.

Etson kept walking. He glanced around, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible, before stepping back into the sunlight. Nick followed him as he walked down the sidewalk, using all of his years of conning experience to remain unnoticed. They passed a number of buildings, eventually passing by a thick brick wall. Etson stopped upon reaching a large, arch gateway in the otherwise flat wall. . Nick hid around the corner as the raccoon checked his surroundings again. Taking a deep breath, he walked in through the gateway into whatever was behind the wall. Nick watched, slowly approaching the arch in pursuit of Etson.

 _Is this…a cemetery?_ Nick wondered. There were a large number of tombstones, each inscribed with the names and years of those who were buried there. There was a central pathway running down the center of the walled-in area which Etson was walking along. Nick stayed close behind him, seeking refuge behind a tree. He carefully observed, as Etson slowly began to walk off the path, his eyes fixed on a particular tombstone. Reverently the raccoon sunk to his knees.

Etson cleared his throat. "Maz _…_ Paz _…_ " he said aloud. _Mom. Dad._ Tears started to well up in his eyes. He stared at the tombstone, his heart aching.

"I…I really miss you both," he sniffled, still trying not to cry. "I know…I know I promised last time…zhat…zhat I wouldn't come back here again," he whimpered as he wiped his face, the tears beginning to flow. "But I can't…I can't do zhis anymore!" he sobbed, burying his face in his paws. Etson couldn't contain how broken he felt anymore. Water ran down his cheek in a constant stream, his eyes becoming red and puffy. "You're probably… so…so disappointed… in me," he forced out between hiccups. "But I…I can't…let you go. Please…please…"

He looked up to the sky, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"I just want you to come back."

Nick swallowed heavily, a new weight setting in on his shoulders. This…this wasn't what he had wanted to see. A feeling of overwhelming guilt washed over him. He felt something he had never felt before…an unworthiness of being in his own skin. He had spent years stealing from animals, smooth talking them into giving up their life savings without an inkling of remorse. Why, then, did he feel like such scum now?

He started backing up, making his way towards the exit.

A twig snapped.

Etson whirled around. "Who's zhere?!" His eyes widened. "Nick?"

Nick winced. The jig was up. Slowly, he turned around to face Etson.

"What are you doing here?"

"About that…heh…funny story, you see," Nick started, trying to remain calm. "I thought I saw a—"

"Nick…did you…did you follow me?" Etson asked, taken aback.

"No, no, that's not it,—"

"Really?" Etson interrupted. His depressed expression had changed into a stare of hatred. "Zhen why else would you come into zhis isolated cemetery?"

Nick's ears dropped. "Look, Etson, I'm sorry—"

"Sorry?! I don't care if you're sorry!" Etson yelled.

"I know, I know, but I just thought that—"

"What? What did you zhink? Zhat I was doing somezhing shady off by myself?" Etson shook his head in rage. "I can't believe it. You, of all mammals. I thought at least a fox would know what it feels like to be written off as untrustworzhy."

Nick realized what he was implying. "Etson, that's not why I did it."

"Oh yeah? Zhen tell me, Nick, why did you do it? If it wasn't because you didn't trust me, zhen why did you follow me?" Etson bellowed.

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Slowly, his face sunk. He didn't know why he had done it.

"Zhat's what I zhought," Etson spat. "You were scared of me zhis whole time. I knew it. I _knew_ from the first time you looked at me. Zhat whole thing where you talked to Judy in private? Yeah, don't zhink I didn't know what zhat was about. Zhis whole time…zhis whole time you tried to hide it from me, Nick. But _I still knew,"_ Etson pursed his lips as he said each of the words, sheer abhorrence for the fox in his bloodshot eyes. "You _never_ trusted me. Every time you looked at me…all you could see was an Alimandish infiltrator. Well, congratulations, you finally figured me out," Etson retorted, his words seeping with vitriol. "You caught me in a conspiracy with my _dead parents_."

Nick stared back at the raccoon. For the first time he could recall, he was at a loss for words.

Etson turned his head away from the fox, fuming. He started walking towards the gate of the cemetery, his fists clenched by his side. He looked back over his shoulder, the silence of the moment piercing the air.

Softly, Etson opened his mouth to speak.

"Why did I ever trust a hypocrite like you?"

The words, though not louder than a whisper, seemed to compress the atmosphere around Nick, a very real, even tangible weight pressing down on his chest.

Etson stared ahead. He chose not to watch the aftermath his weaponry had caused, not wanting to even give the fox a chance to instill a sense of pity in him. He was resolute— he would feel no empathy. Putting one foot in front of the other, he stepped out of the cemetery.

Nick could only watch as the raccoon disappeared into the street, leaving him alone in the cemetery. Lifelessly, he wandered through the still air to where Etson had been kneeling mere moments before.

 _HERE LIES  
Jacques Sonet: June 2nd, 1972 - March 7th, 2008  
Marie Sonet: February 16th, 1975 - March 7th, 2008  
TAKEN BY TRAGEDY INTO GOD'S ARMS_

He stood there motionlessly for a moment. 2008...that was seven years ago. He sighed, his shoulders slumping. To say Nick felt utterly dejected would be an understatement. In truth, he wanted nothing more than to curl up and hide from the world. Maybe then, he thought, he could find a way to forgive himself.

Turning around, he walked onto the path and exited the cemetery.

* * *

Judy tapped her fingers on the steering wheel nervously. She stared at the clock again. 1:34 pm. This was taking too long. They needed to be at the stakeout location. Every minute they weren't there was another minute that the P.P.P. could strike, meaning that all of the time Nick and Etson spent sidetracked was precious.

The car door suddenly opened, causing Judy to flinch.

"Oh, it's just you," she said, letting out a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a second."

Nick shut the car door, not saying anything in reply.

Judy looked at him quizzically. Something about him seemed off. "Nick...are you okay?" she asked. "Did...did something happen?"

Nick turned to look out the window, remaining silent.

"Okay, tell me what's going on," she ordered. "What did you mess up?"

Nick kept looking out the window. "Etson..." he said, "isn't going to be working with me anymore."

Judy's eyes widened. "What?" she exclaimed, a look of bafflement on her face. "How did this happen?"

Nick let out an exasperated sigh. "We got in a fight, okay? I don't want to talk about it."

"What was Etson doing?" Judy pressed him. She wasn't going to let him off the hook on this. "Tell me now. What was Etson doing?"

Nick stared out the window for a second, taking a deep breath. "He was mourning his dead parents," he mumbled.

Judy put a paw to her face, sighing. This literally was the worst possible thing Nick could have done. "I told you," she said, gritting her teeth. "I told you that he wasn't doing anything suspicious."

"Yes, I know, Carrots," he replied, annoyed. "Look, I screwed up and I'm sorry about it. What else do you want from me?"

"What else do I want? Nick, I want you to get my _friend_ back! I want you to fix this mess!" Judy snapped.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" Nick rebutted sharply. "I can't just wave a wand and have everything magically get better."

"Maybe you could, oh, I don't know, _apologize to him?_ " she yelled.

"I _tried_ , Carrots! He wouldn't listen to me!" Nick shouted back, before adding, "Why are you mad at me for this?"

"Because, Nick, I care about Etson," Judy said, "unlike you."

Nick slammed his paws on the dashboard. "That's _IT_!" he bellowed. "I'm sick of it, Judy! Stop antagonizing me just because I see things differently than you! I'm not the bad guy here!"

"Calling you out when you did something wrong is antagonizing you?" she retorted sharply. "You're the one who scared off Etson in the first place! You're being made into the bad guy for a reason, Nick!"

"Are you serious? Carrots, I'm out there _trying to protect your career_ by checking up on Etson, yet you still think I'm the evil one!" Nick sneered.

"Oh, so that's what this whole thing is about? You trying to _protect_ me?" she asked fiercely, becoming increasingly angry. "Yes, of course, because the wittle bunny pwincess is in danger, the oh-so-great knight in shining armor has to come to the rescue! Because the dumb bunny couldn't possibly fend for herself, could she? Is that what you think, Nick? Is that all I am to you - some damsel in distress to with the...with the purpose of validating your superiority?"

"Validating my superiority?" Nick scoffed in disgust. "Judy, what on earth are you talking about?"

Judy groaned in frustration. "I was the one who put my job on the line!" she screamed. "I signed up for this! I didn't need your so-called 'help!' It's my battle, Nick, not yours! Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because we're partners, Judy!" Nick shouted. "We're supposed to look out for each other!"

"That's exactly the problem, Nick. You're not looking out for me. You're controlling me, like... like..." she choked on the words, "Like you're no more than some territorial predator!"

Nick's face contorted into an expression of disgust. That was the final straw. "If that's what you think of me," he quietly spat, "then maybe..." he swallowed, mustering the willpower to finish the sentence, "then maybe we shouldn't be partners."

Judy stared back at him, her ears sagging."Maybe... we shouldn't."

They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, both incredibly pained.

"Fine!" Nick said, snapping out of the daze. "I'll solve this by myself."

He opened up the car door, slamming it forcefully as he jumped out.

"Good!" Judy replied scornfully. "I don't need you anyways!"

Nick glanced over his shoulder, took one last look at his former partner, and started running down the sidewalk, the rabbit watching from the cruiser as he slowly faded out of sight. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

How could he do this to her? He was supposed to be her closest friend, her coworker, her _partner_. He wasn't supposed to hurt her, yet she felt a searing pain in her heart left by his words. All of her life she had been underestimated, written off as a joke. When other animals belittled her, she used it as fuel for her determination. But when the words came from Nick...She wiped away the water from her eyes. _Never let them see that they get to you,_ Nick had told her. If only she had heeded his advice, maybe she wouldn't feel so hurt now. Ever since their first case together, there hadn't been a doubt in her mind that he cared about her. But now...now she wasn't sure. Animals who loved each other...weren't supposed to hurt like this.

 _No,_ she told herself. _I'm not going to feel sorry for myself_.

Judy forced the tears back. She had lived through twenty some odd years without Nick, powering through her problems with raw grit. This was no different. There was a case to solve, and with or without the fox she was going to solve it. She turned the key in the ignition, bringing the car to life. Putting it into gear, she took off down the road.

* * *

Etson kept walking down the sidewalk, watching as the slabs of concrete passed by underneath his feet. He looked again at the crumpled up piece of paper he had pulled from his pocket. Jonathan Summers, 756 Hill Street, Downtown.

Etson let out a sigh. He still had a long ways to go. He would be lucky if he got there within an hour from where he currently stood in Savannah Central.

 _At least,_ he reasoned, _it will give me some more time to think._

Etson's temperament had cooled down considerably since his interaction with Nick, and by all accounts he was back to his normal, level-headed self. Of course, it was not to say that he no longer felt the sharp twinge of betrayal - he still did. Etson fully intended never to speak to Nick again, but now that an hour or so had passed the altercation wasn't always present at the forefront of his mind, disrupting his other thoughts.

He kept studying the sidewalk, continuing to walk forward. His footsteps suddenly stopped.

A police cruiser had pulled up besides him. The passenger's side window slowly rolled down, showing a certain bunny in the driver's seat.

"Wanna ride?" she asked. Etson smiled. He pulled the door open, pulling himself up into the shotgun seat.

"You too, huh?" he remarked, noticing her puffy eyes.

She nodded. There was a moment of sympathetic connection between them, both relating with one another's situation.

Judy watched as Etson buckled his seat belt. "So… what's the pig's address?"

Etson looked back at her in shock. "I thought you said that-"

"I know what I said," Judy interjected. "Just...tell me his address."

Etson made a confused, but also excited, face. He read the address to her, and they drove off.

* * *

Nick slumped against the wall of the building, a number of animals passing him along the sidewalk, staring at him oddly. What was a police officer doing here, depressed and alone?

He sighed. He was feeling too many varying emotions to pinpoint all of them. Certain emotions would surface, briefly leaving him feeling a certain way before fading into the background, allowing another emotion to take its place. The arguments played on repeat in his head, a constant reminder that he had managed to lose everything important to him. Was what he did so wrong? Yes, it was true that he didn't entirely trust Etson. He had been wrong about that. But what Judy had said to him...that was what he didn't believe. He knew who he was. She didn't. Everything he had done for Judy was to show how much he cared for her, yet somehow she continued to perceive his actions as something bad. Wasn't this how you were supposed to love someone? Weren't you supposed to go out of your way for them? What part of that did he do wrong?

He stared across the street, watching as various mammals went about their days. He didn't know how to answer any of those questions. The only thing he knew was that Judy saw his fondness for her as nothing more than predatorial instinct. She had belittled him, and it hurt him tremendously. He thought that she saw how much he loved her determination, her fighting spirit...the things that made her who she was...but apparently she only saw a predator protecting his pack. And he didn't know what to make of that.

Nick cocked his head to the side, something catching his eye across the street. Was that...the police cruiser?

He stood up, moving closer to get a better look. Yep, that was the police cruiser all right. He watched closely as the cruiser pulled over to the side of the road. What...what was Judy doing? He stared, squinting to see what was going on.

Nick's jaw dropped. She...she was picking up _Etson?_ And she was letting him ride in _his_ seat?

Disgusted, he turned around, not able to watch another instant. Who did she think she was, replacing him? He clenched his fists, bubbling with anger. It was one thing to insult him and hurt his feelings. But to completely dispose of him so quickly after their argument? Nick was infuriated at her. Why couldn't she see that _he_ loved her more than anyone else? She was supposed to be _his_ partner, not Etson's. _He_ was supposed to be riding shotgun next to her, not some dumb raccoon.

Nick's face suddenly eased. His ears and tail both dropped.

 _Oh my gosh,_ he thought. _What am I saying?_

He ran his paws through the fur on his face, his body going cold. A sweeping realization came over him.

He was jealous of Etson.

Nick took a few steps backwards, reeling. It all made sense now. That feeling he had, deep in his gut...it hadn't been mistrust. It had been envy. Judy liked Etson. From the beginning she had gone out her way for him - putting her job on the line, offering him a place to stay, consoling him... Nick wanted all of those things for himself. He wanted a monopoly on Judy's affection - which made her right. He was acting like a territorial predator.

Nick groaned. He had been wrong this whole time. Everything about this situation was his mess to clean up, and he had absolutely no idea where to start. He sat against the wall of the building again for a minute, closing his eyes. If he wanted to have any chance of them actually forgiving him...the plan he formulated would have to be perfect. He opened his eyes, exhaling.

The fox reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. He turned it on, the bright display cheerfully greeting him. He instinctively swiped to unlock it, opening up his home page of apps. He tapped on the web browser, launching it, before tapping again on the search bar. His fingers quickly darted about the keyboard, typing in what he needed to look up. Nick hesitated for a moment, his finger hovering over the enter button.

Was this really the best way to go about this? He wasn't sure. Investigating something so private seemed invasive, but he needed more info he wanted to make things right again.

Sighing, he pressed down on the button. As the page loaded, Nick was surprised at how many results showed up. Scrolling through the links, he looked for the one that seemed to be most informative, eventually deciding on a Zootopia Chronicle article. The page first loaded an ad, which Nick promptly closed. With nothing else in his way, he started reading through the article.

 _Car Accident Results in Death of Local Couple_

 _March 8th, 2008_

 _Last night at approximately 10:54pm, a terrible noise pierced through the Savannah District. The sound of screeching rubber followed by a loud bang resulted in many locals being awoken in the middle of the night. Some of them, curious and worried as to what had happened, stepped outside of their homes. What they saw was truly a calamity of catastrophic proportions._

 _Two cars had collided in the middle of the intersection between Grassland Street and Sunrise Avenue, shattered glass forming a perimeter around the two cars. In a panic, a number of locals pulled out their phones, dialing 911, while others ran towards the site of the accident. The collision had occurred between a small Mouzda sedan and a large Miceler truck, the truck having rammed into the driver's side door of the smaller vehicle, completely crushing the car. Frantically, animals pulled the bodies from the wreckage and began to do CPR while emergency teams responded. EMTs arrived not minutes later, quickly transferring the animals to stretchers while trying to perform life-saving maneuvers._

 _At 11:21pm, the couple who had been in the smaller car, raccoons Jacques and Marie Sonet, were declared dead due to fatal wounds to vital organs. The two had been longtime members of the community, despite having migrated from Alimand not four years ago. Mrs. Sonet served as a member of the school committee and held a famous bake sale every year to help raise money for various community recreational programs. Mr. Sonet worked for a packaging company and was known for his volunteer work at various soup kitchens around the city. Their friends and neighbors are mourning their loss._

 _"You never expect it to happen so suddenly," a cheetah who served on the school board with Mrs. Sonet commented. "I think we're all heartbroken."_

 _"I'm still in disbelief," a possum who was coworkers with Jacques remarked. "He was such a good friend to me. I'm going to miss..." he wiped away a tear, "seeing him and his red bowtie that he would always wear to work. It's truly a tragedy that this happened."_

 _Authorities say that the accident occurred when the driver of the Miceler ran a red light. According to their report, the car was also going approximately twenty five miles over the speed limit when it rammed into the Mouzda, which had happened to be in the intersection after the light turned green._

As he continued reading, Nick's eyes suddenly widened.

 _The driver of the truck has been identified as Christopher Wilde, a fox from the Canal District. He has since been arrested and is currently a number of charges, the most notable of which is manslaughter._

Nick felt his heart stop for a moment. He clasped his head as everything around him began to whirl. His stomach felt incredibly light, the contents inside all screaming to exit his body. His breathing suddenly intensified into panting.

His father had killed Etson's parents.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger!** **:P As always, please let me know what you think of the story and whether or not you like where it's going, as well as any other tips that you may have for my writing. And of course, thanks for reading! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

-Chapter 12-

The police cruiser pulled over, backing into the alleyway, effectively concealing itself in the shadows of the buildings. Judy shifted the car into park, letting out a sigh.

"So...do we just wait now?" Etson asked her.

"Yes," she answered, "so you should probably get comfortable."

Etson, accepting the invitation, reclined his seat and wriggled himself into a more comfortable position, putting his paws behind his head as he leaned back. Judy reached for the car radio, pressing the knob to turn it on. One by one, she went through her presets. Advertisement, advertisement, crappy song...she paused.

" _'Cause I can make your paws clap_ ," the chorus came through the radio, saxophone blaring over the catchy beat. Judy winced. That was one of Nick's favorite songs. Quickly, she pushed the thought out of him out of her mind, pressing the next knob on the dashboard.

" _Fasco appears to be up in the polls today after the two Alimandish attacks yesterday, his strict policy on -_ " Judy shook her head at the radio, moving onto the next latest single from Selena Goatmez started playing, satisfying Judy. She followed Etson's lead and leaned back in her chair, gazing across the street.

"That's the house we're looking after, right?" she inquired, pointing.

Etson nodded. "Zhat's it."

"Perfect," she exclaimed. If anyone started to try anything they were in the perfect position to stop it. She just hoped that they wouldn't look too closely for police cruiser. She had done her best to hide it in the darkness of the alley, but on such a busy street it was nearly impossible to completely conceal. Of course, this was assuming that the P.P.P. were going to strike at the location Etson had provided, which could very well turn out to not be the case. Still, Judy liked to remain optimistic that at the very least _something_ would happen.

"So you're a Goatmez fan, eh?" Etson asked in reference to the radio, still comfortably reclined in the shotgun seat.

"I mean she's not my favorite, but she's not bad either," Judy replied, turning to look at the raccoon. "What do you think of her?"

"Meh. I'm not really into zhe music here," he admitted. "Not my zhing, really."

Judy raised an eyebrow at him. "What about the music 'here' don't you like?"

"I don't know, it's just different I guess," he replied, shrugging. "Music in Alimand... is a lot more electronic. Not many...how do you say it..." the raccoon paused, grasping for the word he needed.

"Vocals?" Judy suggested.

"Yes! Vocals. Zhere aren't very many vocals," Etson finished, somewhat embarrassed that he had forgotten the vocab.

"Hmm. I'll have to listen to it sometime, then," she chatted.

There was a brief moment of silence, the two animals staring out over the busy avenue together.

Judy turned her head to look at the raccoon. "Do you miss Alimand?"

He glanced back at her. "Yes and no," he replied. Seeing the perplexed look on the rabbit's face, he decided to elaborate. "We had to leave a lot of friends zhere. And zhe food. I really, really miss zhe food," he admitted, smiling.

Judy started to laugh, but the humor was quickly neutralized by her memories. Nick also loved Alimandish food. She remembered him stuffing his face at the food court on one of their patrol days, hardly taking time to breath. She shook the mental baggage off, reminding herself that she didn't need to be concerned with him any more.

"Aside from zhose zhings, zhough...Zhere's not much I miss," Etson concluded, letting out a sigh.

Judy bit her lip nervously. She didn't want to pry, but she was curious. "Why...don't you miss it?"

Etson inhaled heavily. That was a question that couldn't be answered easily. "Zhings are...different zhere. And not the good type of different, eizher," he told her.

"Thanks for that vivid picture," Judy teased, causing the raccoon to chuckle. "Care to explain some more?"

"Sure," he said as he cleared his throat, preparing his best narrator voice. "You see, it all started zhousands of years ago...on zhe ozher side of zhe world zhere was an island in zhe middle of zhe ocean, untouched by mammalkind. Legend has it zhat a terrible storm blew a ship of traders to zhe island, which zhey called Alimand. Zhey made a small village zhere, living off of the many fish on zhe coast and in zhe rivers," Etson explained, waving his paws around for dramatic effect. "Zhere were only twenty or so mammals on zhe ship. But zhere was somezhing zhey all had in common."

"What?" Judy eagerly asked.

"Zhey were all...predators," Etson revealed. "Zhese animals...zhey were zhe ancestors of everyone who would live on Alimand, according to zhe story. Zhe animals started to multiply, slowly spreading out over zhe rest of zhe island. New fishing mezhods led to more food and more population. Being isolated on an island in the ocean allowed for zhe Alimandish language to develop along wizh unique Alimandish culture. Zhey built magnificent structures working togezher. Everyone seemed content, living in harmony wizh one anozher for centuries."

Judy felt a lump in her throat. This was going to be the part when things got ugly, she could tell.

"What happened?" she tentatively questioned.

Etson fidgeted awkwardly. "Ozher animals found zhe island," he answered as a grim look came upon his face. "At first it was just explorers. Zhey mapped out zhe island and left, bringing tales of a myzhical civilization home wizh zhem. And zhen, over time more animals came. And zhen...zhen zhings started to get worse."

"What do you mean? How did they make it worse?"

"Well...zhe animals zhat came..." Etson paused, reluctant to continue, "were prey." Judy's ears started to droop. Etson sighed. "Zhese animals...zhey didn't want to live zhe way zhe Alimandish natives did. Most of zhe time...zhere was no way for zhem to communicate wizh each ozher. Zhings gradually got more violent as more and more of zhese animals came...Until zhe whole island snapped," Etson lamented. His tone got significantly darker, his face now shifting into a frown. "A wolf named Jurwezy went out to his fishing nets zhat morning, only to catch some prey animals stealing from him. Zhis was not an uncommon sight. Prey often took from zhe predators...and Jurwezy decided that he'd had enough."

"What...what did he do?"

"He... attacked zhem," Etson started, his voice softer all of a sudden. "And killed zhem both."

Judy's face mimicked Etson's, a heavy frown overcoming her usually positive expression.

"Zhe prey were outraged. Zhey began calling for zhe muzzling of all of zhe native Alimandish citizens, claiming zhat zhey were all too dangerous to trust," Etson swallowed heavily. "Zhey attacked zhat night. One by one, zhey set fire to zhe homes. Everyone panicked. Zhey had no idea what was happening," he described to her. "By zhe end of zhe night...everyone in zhe village had been captured and muzzled, from the smallest child to zhe wisest elder. Zhe whole zhing is known to zhis day as Jurwezylao, or Jurwezy Night, after zhe wolf who attacked."

Judy looked over at the raccoon. "Did...things ever get better?"

The raccoon was silent for a moment. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. "Zhe prey took over zhe island, village by village, night after night. Zhe mammals of Alimand tried to fight back, but zhey had no real weapons because...well...zhey had never needed to fight a war before," he told Judy somberly. "Eventually they reached the grand temple in zhe center of zhe island. Zhe Alimandish could do nothing but watch as zheir greatest work was pounded to rubble by zhe prey. It was zhe end of an era. From zhat day on...prey would rule Alimand. And zhe predators..." Etson paused, "were ruled over. For the next hundred years predators would have to wear muzzles in public. Zhe island was split into two, predator and prey, wizh zhe predator half being heavily policed and oppressed. To zhis day everyzhing is still separated. Everyzhing - zhe tap water, zhe schools, zhe homes, zhe jobs - it's all better if you live in zhe prey sector. And _zhat_... Zhat is why I don't miss Alimand."

Judy rested her head against the back of the driver's seat, taking the whole story in. It was history like this that made her reconsider her positive outlook on the world. How could she continue to see the best in animals when stories like Alimand's so clearly showed the worst of mammal nature? In a way, even though she knew it made no rational sense, she felt guilty that fellow prey could commit such atrocities. She knew that the world wasn't perfect...but it wasn't _entirely_ imperfect either. At least that's what she chose to believe. Yet, as she became increasingly acquainted with the subject of history, she kept having that belief challenged. Her eyes sunk down, fixed on her seat, Judy feeling equal parts ashamed and unsettled.

"Look, I know it's not a very happy story," he admitted, hoping to make Judy feel better, "but we haven't seen how it ends yet."

She turned to look at him. What was he saying?

"Zhe predators are finally fighting back," he explained. "Zhe protests...zhe sit-ins...it's all a step in zhe right direction. If enough animals will listen, and realize zhe right zhing to do," Etson said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, "zhen maybe Alimand will finally become a place worzh living."

Judy's frown slowly changed back into her usual determined expression.

 _It's all about trying to make the world a better place,_ she thought. _In the end, that's all you can do._

She stared out the windshield as the radio switched songs, feeling a profound sense of confidence instilled in her. She glanced around, taking a moment to admire the city she was now much more proud to live in. There was something she had always loved about Zootopia, and juxtaposing the current situation there with the one in Alimand certainly made her more grateful. Her eyes hopped from animal to animal and building to building, her mind wondering about the stories of each animal looked at. The mother with a stroller...the frantic businessman...the hooded figure toying with the lock across the street...they all could have novels written about their lives.

 _Wait,_ she realized, _someone's breaking into that house!_

Judy suddenly leaned forward in her seat. She squinted and then quickly rubbed her eyes, not trusting what her senses were telling her. Her mouth gradually began to hang open.

"Etson..." she started, "You...you see that too, right?" she pointed across the street to the target building.

He looked in the area she had pointed out for him. "I don't see anything..."

"Look harder," Judy told him.

Etson's eyes widened. "Is zhat...?"

"It has to be," Judy quickly responded, the driver's side door flying open as she leapt into action. "Quick! We have to move!"

Etson quickly fumbled to unbuckle his seatbelt before jumping out the passenger side door. Judy sprinted across the street, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. Etson followed behind her, running through the crosswalk to catch up. The hooded figure turned around and, after noticing the two animals who were barreling towards them, jumped off the steps that led to the door and began running down the street.

"Stop that mammal!" Judy yelled, pursuing as fast as she could, Etson not far behind. "You're under arrest!"

The hooded figure kept running, disregarding the rabbit's orders. They ducked into a nearby alleyway, trying to lose their new friends. Judy and Etson followed after them. The alleyway was dark and small, but the hooded figure could still be easily seen. They sprinted after the criminal side by side, their surroundings fading into a blur, when Etson thought he noticed something on the ground.

He looked over his shoulder to examine the object. _Those could work,_ he thought. He came to an abrupt halt, scurrying over to the side of the alley.

"Etson! What are you doing?" Judy screamed, still running.

"I'll catch up!" he yelled back. "Just keep going!"

Judy looked back over her shoulder, wondering what crazy plan he had concocted. She looked forwards again and kept chasing the figure, who was still ahead of her by a few strides. The alleyway ended, sending the chase back into another main avenue. The hooded figure's footsteps matched Judy's, the rabbit matching them stride for stride a few meters behind. They ran against a crowd of pedestrians, Judy carefully maneuvering to avoid being stepped on by the larger animals around her. She watched as the culprit climbed up a series of fruit crates which were stacked atop of each other outside of a fruit market. Hastily, they pulled themselves up onto the top crate. The stack of crates teetered and plummeted as they pushed off, landing in the back of a pickup truck that happened to by driving by. Judy dived out of the way as the boxes hit the ground around her, spilling fruit all over the sidewalk. Somersaulting back into a run, her eyes darted through the traffic, singling out the truck that was carrying the suspect. The hood they had been wearing had fallen off their head, revealing their true identity.

 _The vandalizer...is a deer foal?_ Judy thought. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice behind her.

"Coming zhrough!" Etson yelled. Judy glanced quickly over her shoulder to see the raccoon on roller skates catching up with her.

"Etson!" she yelled in between gasps of air, still in a sprint, "We have to catch that deer! On the truck!"

"That deer?" he asked, surprised that they were chasing someone who appeared to be so young.

"Yes! The one on the red pickup truck!"

Etson stared into the traffic, spotting the vehicle she was describing. "I'll chase it. You stay on the sidewalk!" he exclaimed. She nodded in agreement. He slid gracefully past her, seamlessly slipping into the flow of traffic. To her surprise, he was able to maneuver between cars with incredible ease and speed. He weaved between the lanes, staying close behind the pickup truck. He kept his eyes locked on the deer, determined to keep the criminal in his sights. The deer smirked, having outsmarted the police, only to be sheerly alarmed at the sight of Etson close behind her. The raccoon pushed into the ground with his skates, glancing upwards. Red light. The truck began to brake, apparently oblivious to the fact that anything was happening. The deer, eyes wide, quickly leaped out of the truck and started running to the sidewalk, nearly getting hit by an oncoming car as she ran through the crosswalk. Etson skated after her, trying to get them her run into Judy, who was still quite a ways behind. He jumped from the street onto the sidewalk, trying not to lose momentum.

The deer kept running, now back on the sidewalk, but Etson was gaining on her. She sprinted harde. She wasn't going to outpace the raccoon. Frantically, she reached into her backpack, pulling out a can of spraypaint. She turned around, throwing it at Etson as hard as she could. Etson ducked, the can flying over his head. The deer turned right to run down another alleyway, trying desperately to ditch the racoon. Etson leaned to the right, his center of gravity shifting and right paw skimming the ground as he turned into the alleyway after the deer. The animal being chased grew more and more panicked. She tossed her backpack backwards, hoping that it would slow the pursuer down. Etson simply dodged to the right, maintaining his velocity. A smirk slowly swept across his face as he got within arm's length of the deer.

Etson bent his knees, pushing his feet into the ground with tremendous force as his legs extended, causing him to spring towards the wall of the alleyway. The moment seemed to slow down as Etson's body flew threw the air. He felt his skates make contact with the side of the building, his knees bending once again as he pushed himself off the wall. He flew forward as he spun his body around, his skates making a solid _klank_ as they hit the ground.

The deer stared at him in both awe and terror as Etson wall jumped past her, landing in front of her escape path. In a frenzy, her progress grinded to a halt, scrambling to run the direction she had just come from. Her eyes practically jumped out of his sockets. The bunny was right there, waiting for her. She looked back and forth between the two exits, both of which were now blocked, and let out a defeated sigh. She was trapped.

"Well, well, well," Judy remarked, dusting off her paws, "I didn't expect the P.P.P. vandalizer to be so young."

"And I didn't expect top police officer Judy Hopps to be so slow," the deer retorted, grinning. "If it weren't for your skater friend's sick moves," she nodded towards Etson, who sheepishly smiled, "you would have been out of luck."

Judy snorted, shaking her head. "That's some awfully bold talk considering your situation, miss."

The deer shrugged. "I never was the quiet type."

"Well, in that case," Judy started, pulling out her notebook and carrot pen, "I don't suppose you'll have any problems telling us about the vandalizations you've been committing."

"You don't know that it was me," the deer retorted.

"Do you really want to test our evidence, sweetheart?" Judy rebutted.

The deer paused, thinking over her options. She let out a conceded sigh. "What do you need to know, Bucktooth?"

"That's Officer Hopps to you," Judy jeered, slightly ticked off, causing the deer to roll her eyes. "Why don't you start by telling us your name?"

"I'm Rory," she answered. "Rory Nelson."

"How old are you?" Etson wondered.

"Eight."

"Okay, _Miss Nelson_ ," Judy said scornfully, "why exactly were you doing breaking the lock on that building?"

"I was gonna vandalize the place," Rory responded without skipping a beat, causing Judy to raise an eyebrow. "Anything else you need to know?"

"Um...yes," Judy replied, caught off guard by the bluntness of the deer's answer. "Are you responsible for the three other P.P.P. vandalizations?"

"Yep."

There was a moment of silence. Etson clenched his fists in anger. So this was the person who took the scrapbook away from him.

"Care to...elaborate on that?" Judy asked, clearly annoyed by the deer's terse response.

"Nope."

Judy let out a sigh. "Listen here, _Rory_ ," she scoffed, "I know you think you're all that for evading us for so long, but _I'm_ the one in charge here. So, you're either going to listen to me, or things are going to get much worse for you. Do you understand?"

"Whatever you say, Hopps," Rory answered nonchalantly. She didn't like being told what to do, but at the moment she didn't really have any leverage to act how she wanted, meaning her best option was to listen to Judy.

"Now, let me ask you again," Judy started. "Care to elaborate on that?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm the one who did it. I burned down all three of the buildings," she admitted. Etson started to twitch with rage. Noticing this, Rory added, "But it's not as bad as it seems."

"'Not as bad as it seems?' You just admitted to burning down my cafe!" Etson yelled.

"Look, pal, I didn't want to do it," she told him. "I didn't have a choice."

Judy raised an eyebrow. Etson's fists unclenched.

"I was blackmailed," Rory explained.

A lightbulb went off in the rabbit's head. "Fasco..." she muttered under her breath.

The deer's eyes widened. "Wait, how did you-?"

"That's not important," Judy replied, shaking her head. "Why didn't you tell your parents about this?"

Rory's expression sank. "The thing is...I...uh," she muttered. An awkward silence filled the air. "I don't have any parents."

Etson immediately turned to stare at the young doe. She...she was like him?

"Oh," Judy mumbled, swallowing awkwardly. There was a brief moment of recognition, before the silence was broken. "Tell us more about Fasco."

The deer, eager to change the subject, happily obliged. "Jeez...where do I begin?" she joked, sighing slightly. "I...ran into Fasco...to put it one way, when he caught me pickpocketing his wife's purse," Rory admitted. "He sent his bodyguards after me - a pair of cheetahs. Needless to say, I had no chance. They caught me easily and brought me back to an empty parking lot, where they made me empty my pockets. After seeing how much I had pickpocketed that day...they told me that they were going to have me arrested. "

"So...what happened?" Judy wondered.

"Fasco gave me another option," Rory answered. "He told me that he'd let me keep all of the money and keep going about my life as usual...If I did him a favor. I should have realized that doing these 'favors' were going to get me caught anyways, but hindsight is 20-20."

Judy hastily scribbled everything down into her notebook. "So he told you which houses to target?"

"Yeah. He gave me the location and the time, as well as a lockpicking tool."

"What about the spray paint?" Etson asked. "Did he tell you what P.P.P. meant?"

"Actually," Rory replied, "Fasco had nothing to do with the spray paint."

Judy and Etson looked at each other confusedly.

"You see..." Rory started, "every time Fasco would call me in to give me the next target...his wife would be there with him. After Fasco finished telling me what to do, she would pull me aside and give me additional directions along with...a little extra cash for my troubles," she confessed, smirking. "And I wasn't just going to turn down free money."

"So she was the one who told you to do the P.P.P. spraypaint?" Judy asked.

"Yep. The sticky notes were her idea too," Rory told them.

"Interesting..." Judy remarked, tapping her chin again with the carrot pen. She snapped her notebook shut. "Alright, let's go back to HQ with Rory here. We can ask her about some more things on the ride back."

"You mean I don't get to go free? But I told you everything you asked!" Rory argued.

Judy laughed. "Sweetie, you just admitted to pickpocketing several animals and accepting bribes to do criminal activity. You're gonna have to come with us."

Rory hesitated for a moment, staring at the ground. "I'm not going to...you know... spend the night in jail or anything, right?"

Judy nervously scratched behind her head. "About that..." Judy started, causing the doe's ears to droop. "I'm sorry. It's just...we don't have anywhere else secure that you can stay."

"Yeah, whatever," the doe sputtered, clearly distraught. It was foolish to believe anyone would trust her.

Etson glanced down at the doe, staring into her depressed eyes. He had never been convicted of anything before, but he still knew what it was like to live on the streets alone at such a young age. And he still had all of that prize money...

"Ah, what zhe heck. She can stay with me," Etson gave in.

"R-really?" Rory looked up at him. "You mean it?"

Etson nodded. Judy looked back at him quizzically. "You have a place to stay? Since when?"

"I have zhe money now," he replied, trying to convince her of the idea. "I can book a hotel and post bail if needed."

"I don't know about this, Etson," Judy admitted, looking back and forth between him and Rory.

"I know what you're thinking, Officer Hopps," Rory said as respectfully as she could. "I promise you, if you let me stay in a hotel for the night I will do _whatever_ you need me to for as long as you want."

Judy's eyes narrowed, unsure about whether or not she could trust the doe. If she was lying...then that meant their only solid evidence on Fasco was gone.

"Please, Judy," Etson begged on Rory's behalf. He saw too much of himself in the doe to let her spend a night in a cold concrete cell. "I'll look after her. Zhings will be fine."

The carrot pen tapped against her chin a few more times. "...Fine," Judy conceded, sighing. Etson and Rory grinned at one another. "Now can we please go back to HQ?"

"I think," Rory said, gesturing towards Etson's feet, "that you might want to return those skates first."

Etson looked down at the skates, quickly unlacing them.

"I meant to ask you Etson," Judy commented, "where did you learn to skate like that?"

"Zhat's somezhing about Alimand I forgot to tell you," he replied, pulling the first skate off his foot. "Everyone zhere knows how to skate." He yanked the last skate off his other foot, pulling himself back up into a standing position. "Alright," he said, "let's go."

* * *

The sun slowly faded behind a series of clouds, its light obstructed by the gaseous clusters. A slight breeze blew through the overcast streets as the afternoon waned on. Animals could be seen everywhere going about their business as they usually did. There was one animal, however, who was noticeably from the rest.

Nick, in his police uniform, stuck out like a sore thumb among the crowd. He walked down the street, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses in spite of the gloomy weather. The dark aviators kept people from knowing how he was feeling, which made him feel more comfortable about the attention he was drawing to himself. Although, if anyone could see past the lenses, they would see a gleaming determination in his eyes, a determination to make amends.

He held in his paws a bouquet and a small, white box, which garnered some strange looks from passerby. What was this police officer doing holding an arrangement of flowers? Or maybe it was just the fact that he was a fox in uniform? Either way, it wasn't as if these strange looks bothered Nick. He'd gotten used to them over the course of his life on the streets, and now he shrugged them off as if they were nothing.

He abruptly stopped walking, having reached his destination. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped into the ZPD headquarters.

* * *

 **Chapter 12 is out! Without spoiling too much, this chapter is very much the calm before the storm. I hope you all enjoy reading, and as always, please write a review telling me what you think of the story!**


	13. Chapter 13

-Chapter 13-

Nick took a deep breath as he stowed away the flowers in the locker, keeping only the little white box, which he stuffed in the pocket of his uniform pants. He slammed the door of the storage unit shut and walked back down the hallway to the lobby of the building, where he plopped himself down on one of the couches. He adjusted his tie nervously, thinking through his plan one final time. He had rehearsed every scenario in his head multiple times, but it provided no alleviation for the anxiousness he felt. Part of it was that, as much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, even if his plan went perfectly it would only increase his chances of fixing the situation. There was no sure fire way of ensuring that he'd get his friends back. After all, it was ultimately their choice as to whether or not to forgive him, which was something out of his control.

His ears suddenly perked up, his attention caught by the glass doors at the entrance of the building swinging open. The fox sat up in his seat, breathing heavily. It was Judy and Etson and...a doe? Nick slightly cocked his head to the side. Had they caught the vandalizer without him? Sweat began to coagulate on his forehead. If that was the case, then he hadn't accounted for it, which meant another variable that could potentially throw his plan off.

The three of them slowly approached Clawhauser's desk, where the receptionist greeted them warmly, as per usual. "Welcome back, you two! And hello to you..."

"Rory," the deer provided, extending her hoof. "Nice to meet you."

Clawhauser shook paws with her, smiling. "That's a very nice name," he remarked.

"Yeah, well, she's the one who's been carrying out the vandalizations," Judy alerted him, causing him to take a step back.

Nick felt his pulse thump harder in his throat. So they _had_ caught the vandalizer.

Rory rolled her eyes. "It's not like I bite," she snarked, calling out how the cheetah had recoiled.

"We were zhinking," Etson started, "zhat maybe you could show her around and look after her while we go back to examine zhe evidence. Is zhat okay?"

Clawhauser blinked, unsure how to react. He looked down at the small deer and back at Judy and Etson. "Sure, I can do that," he replied somewhat nervously.

"She'll behave. Otherwise she loses certain privileges we've given her," Judy said, holding the reward of staying in a hotel over her.

Rory folded her arms. She hated being controlled like this, but she knew better than to try to be obstinate in this scenario.

"We'll be back soon," Judy promised. "We just have to look over some...new developments that we have."

"Don't worry guys, it's no problem. We'll be just fine," Clawhauser assured them.

"Zhanks. You're zhe best."

Nodding, Clawhauser scurried off with the doe, Judy and Etson heading the opposite direction, generally positive expressions on their faces as they walked towards the couches.

Nick took one final deep breath. Reluctant to leave the security of the couch, he forced himself to stand up. Now was going to be the best chance he got to confront them about it.

The bunny and raccoon's faces simultaneously shifted into angry scowls at the sight of the fox. Nick swallowed. That was a bad sign.

"Hey there! How's it going?" he sheepishly greeted.

The two mammals kept walking without acknowledging that he had said anything, their faces crooked with contempt.

"Guys? How's it going?" he asked again.

Etson glared at him harshly, his enmity practically tangible.

"Look, Etson...Judy...I know you're mad at me," Nick offered, "but please just let me talk to you for a second."

They both continued walking, disregarding the fox's entire existence.

"Etson, please!" he begged, helpless as the two of them passed him, eyes both focused on the hallway in front of them.

"You don't understand!" Nick implored, swallowing. "It's...It's something about your parents," he blurted out desperately.

Etson stopped walking. The absence of footsteps sent silence piercing through the room.

"Look, I don't care if you never talk to me again after this," Nick conceded, "but please just let me have this one time."

The raccoon looked over his shoulder. "Fine," he spat, facing forwards again. "I'll meet you in the office."

Nick let out a sigh of relief. He was happy to have _a_ victory, however minor.

"I'll meet up with you later," Judy said stoically to the raccoon. "I have some paperwork to do anyways."

Etson nodded. The bunny turned around, still treating Nick as though he were invisible as she walked past him in the other direction. He watched her again on the way to the reception desk, completely void of any emotion. He turned back to look at Etson, who had already started walking towards the office. He followed after him down the hallway.

The raccoon's paw gripped the handle, opening the door and walking into the room. Nick did the same, closing the door as he walked into the office to preserve the aura of privacy. Etson took a seat in one of the chairs, taking a deep breath as he folded his arms. Nick could almost feel the hatred coming off of him, Etson's oddly calm demeanor somehow making him all the more unnerving. He put his back up against the wall, leaning into it for support.

"So," Etson started. Each word seemed all the more heavy when juxtaposed intensely with the silence of the room. "What do you have to tell me?"

Nick took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it, opening up his photo library.

"Here," he said, handing the phone to the raccoon. Etson looked at the picture intently. The photo was of a fox, somewhat bulky, in a white tee and blue jeans being handcuffed and forced into the back of a police car.

"What is this supposed to be?" he asked, unimpressed.

"That," Nick stated, "is the mammal who is responsible for the death of your parents."

Etson quickly looked back down at the phone, examining the photo again.

"Coincidentally..." he started. A pause loomed over the room. Nick looked down at the ground for a moment, pursing his lips nervously before looking back up at the wall again. "He also happens to be my father," the words squeaked out.

Etson looked up at Nick before looking back down at the image again.

"Why...why are you telling me zhis?"

Nick kept staring at the wall. He closed his eyes.

"So you can have another reason to hate me."

Etson looked up again at the fox, who still had his eyes closed.

"Well," he said, holding the phone out for the fox, "it's not going to work."

Nick opened his eyes, standing upright as he turned his head to look at Etson. "You mean...you're not mad?" he asked, slowly reaching to take the phone back.

"Oh, I'm absolutely infuriated," he assured Nick, "but it has nothing to do with this."

Nick took the phone back. He studied the image again, as he already had done so many times. He felt a strange prompting come over him, as if the image was beckoning him.

 _I can't,_ he thought. _That's not part of the plan._ He desperately tried to stomach the urge, insisting to himself that it was irrational, not part of the plan, made no sense...but the impulse refused to leave.

Nick sighed. He adjusted his tie again.

"You know...my dad...he...he left when he figured out my mom was pregnant," he paused. "He didn't want me."

Silence conquered the room again.

"...I hated him so much, Etson," Nick broke the quiet, shaking his head angrily. "Why would anyone do that? He knew...he _knew_ how much he was going to hurt me and my mother, and he _still_ left," he raged, his voice crescendoing in intensity. "All of the other kids... they had normal families. Why couldn't I be like them? Why did I have to feel so alone, so beaten down, so _unwanted_?" His fists clenched as he looked back at the ground. "I wanted so badly to have a father who..." the words stopped in his throat, "who _loved_ me."

Etson stared at the fox. He swallowed, finding himself unable to respond.

Nick continued. "Back then," he admitted, "the only person who I really loved- or who loved me- was my mother. That was it," he stopped for a moment. "Until Judy came." He chuckled, a slight grin coming to his face. "That dumb bunny changed everything. Including me. I couldn't stop thinking about her, worrying about her...caring about her. She...she was unlike anything I'd ever come across. And I guess... I got scared she'd be taken away from me," Nick confessed. For the first time since he had stepped into the room, he turned to look Etson in the eyes. The pressure in the room seemed to increase as the two mammals stared at each other.

"That's why I followed you," Nick stated. "I thought that maybe...just maybe... if I caught you doing something shady...then I could make Judy leave you. And, yes, I know. I know that I deserve to be hated. And if you come out of here still loathing me, I don't fault you for it. But I thought I would try to explain _why_ I acted the way I did, and, well...apologize for how much of an insensitive, nosy, misguided fox I was. That's all."

Nick reached into his pocket again. Etson stared curiously as Nick pulled out a white box.

"This is for you," he offered, extending his arm towards the raccoon.

Etson looked up at the fox incredulously, cautiously accepting the box. He glanced back down as he pulled off the lid slowly.

Etson gaped at the contents of the box, a paw impulsively coming up from his side to cover his mouth.

"How did you-who told you...what?" he asked, utterly stupefied. The box contained a brand new red bowtie, exactly like the one his father had worn to work every day. It was nearly indistinguishable in every way from the original, from the color to the dimensions to the shape.

"I did some research," Nick explained. "And then I got in touch with some...old friends...and had them make me one based on a few pictures I was able to get."

Etson had no idea what to say. He hadn't even expected a gift from Nick, never mind one that was this thoughtful.

"Of course," Nick said, "if you don't want to wear it because of me, I'll understand."

"No, Nick," Etson replied, unable to stop grinning in disbelief. "Zhis is amazing."

A slight frown came over the fox's face. "Well, I'm glad you like it."

 _Even if he doesn't forgive me,_ Nick thought. _At least I made him happy._

A quiet came over the room again.

Etson kept looking at the bowtie. Its red gleam portrayed both an elegance and a warmness that felt familiar to the raccoon. He rubbed the fabric between the pads of his fingers, noting the silky texture of the material. His shoulders began to slump, the jovial look in his eyes overcome by one of longing. Buried memories began to resurface, covering the ones that brought him joy. Tears rolled down the raccoon's face. Etson began to sob hysterically, sinking his face into his paws.

Nick's ears dropped from their upright position, his expression full of concern. "Etson..." he walked over to the vacant seat next to the raccoon, sitting down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"I-I..I just can't do it anymore!" Etson sniveled, futilely wiping his tears away. "Zhere is... _hic_... too much... _hic_... of zhem in me."

"Hey, hey, it will be okay," he put his paw on Etson's shoulder. "Just take some nice, deep, breaths."

"You don't understand!" he shouted, shaking his head hysterically. "Every time I look at zhat bowtie, I-I..." he choked up, whimpering in pain, "I see it on my fazher's corpse!" he blurted out. His sobs intensified into wails as he buried his head further into his paws, his brain tormented by the concoctions of the darkest part of his mind. Over and over again his mind replayed the scene. Flashing lights, frantic citizens, wailing sirens. Etson let out an internal scream. He had to look away, but he found himself immobile, his body completely rigid. His breaths shortened, the sweat drenching his shaking body. In gruesome detail, Etson watched. The EMTs loaded the mutilated bodies of his parents onto stretchers, his father's red bowtie dipped in a pool of blood.

"Etson!" Nick began shaking him. "Etson, snap out of it!"

Etson suddenly came back to his senses, staring at the fox. Nick let out an enormous sigh of relief.

"Are...are you okay?" he asked. Nick began to wrap his arm around the raccoon's shoulders. "Let me help you-"

"No!" Etson interrupted, throwing Nick's arm away. "Stay away from me!"

"Etson, plea-"

"I'm not going to let love hurt me again!"

Nick stared at him, taken aback.

"Etson..."

The raccoon sniffled, again wiping away snot and tears, his cries the only noise filling the vacancy. After a minute or so, he managed to control himself to speak again.

"When my parents died...I promised myself zhat...zhat I would never let anyone know who I was," he told Nick, trying to control his violent hiccuping. "Zhe...zhe worst way zhat someone can hurt you...happens when you let zhem love you."

The fox focused on him sympathetically, his face bearing a look of understanding. He placed a paw on the raccoon's shoulder.

"Etson," he let out a small sigh, "it's so much more complicated than that," the raccoon turned to look at him. "Look...I don't know what it's like to lose both of my parents. But if there's one thing that I've learned from my time at the ZPD...it's that being in love is a lot better than being alone,"Nick stated sincerely.

"But... _hic_...how do you know zhat you won't get hurt?" Etson asked.

"I don't," Nick replied honestly, not taking his eyes off of the raccoon. "But that's the funny thing about love..." Nick paused as he thought of a way to describe it. "It's... both the poison and the antidote. It's is the only thing that can heal the damage it deals."

Etson stared back at the fox, his sobbing stopping for a brief moment. "Do you...do you really believe zhat?"

"Yes," Nick answered firmly. "I do."

The room was silent.

"But...who will love someone as broken as me? I'm such a wreck zhat nobody will want to put up with me."

"Well, there's me, for starters," Nick replied. "And then there's Judy, the people from your cafe, the mayor...Etson, don't you see? There are animals everywhere who are willing to fix you," he smiled. "All you have to do is let them."

Etson gazed back at the fox, tears still on his mask. He looked downwards at his lap, where the bowtie remained. Maybe...maybe Nick was right. He ran his fingers over the smooth fabric again, feeling the looming terror he had previously invoked replaced by a sense of peace. It was time. He was ready. Ready to move on.

"Zhank you, Nick," he spoke softly.

"Of course," the fox replied, smiling contently. "Friend."

The two of them stood up from their seats, Nick extending his arms out to the raccoon. Etson accepted, hugging Nick back. They embraced for a few seconds, exchanging pats on the back before releasing each other.

Etson put the bowtie back in the box before placing it in his pocket. He was still clearly a wreck, his bloodshot eyes accompanied by residue from the tears in his fur. Slowly, they began walking towards the door.

"Nick," the raccoon stopped. Nick turned around, taking his paw off the doorknob. "Zhere's just one more zhing...zhat I...uh.. want to talk about."

Nick nonchalantly put his hands in his pockets. "Sure. What's up?"

"It's about my name..." he swallowed. "I've been using a nickname zhis whole time."

The fox raised an eyebrow.

"My real name is..." Etson paused. Was he going to do this?

 _Yes,_ he thought to himself. _I'm not going to try and forget my past anymore._

"Reynard."

The fox stroked his chin. "Reynard..." Nick repeated. "I like that. Although I have to ask, where did Etson come from?"

"It's an anagram of my last name, Sonet," he explained, "I started using it after...well...you know."

Nick nodded in understanding.

"Anyways...let's go get Judy now so we can-" Reynard stopped, noticing that Nick's expression had dropped. "Oh...right. Um..." he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I zhink I'll let you handle zhat."

Nick sighed, putting his paw on the doorknob again. He had restored one of his past friendships, but mending things with Judy...He shuddered. He didn't know if he could handle _that._

* * *

The locker slammed shut, its owner having made his withdrawal. Nick stood holding the bouquet of flowers, emotions running high as he walked up the stairs to the hallway that contained Judy's office. He breathed heavily, trying to calm his skyrocketing heart rate as he walked down the corridor of offices.

He looked back down at the flowers. Nick closed his eyes, his shoulders rising and sinking as he took one, final deep breath. Slowly, he raised his paw to the door, and knocked.

"Come in," Judy's voice rang through the wall. Nick swallowed heavily, opening up the door. Judy was sitting at a small desk, a stack of papers on her left and on her right, which Nick presumed to be finished and unfinished work. She was staring at a computer screen, copying down information from the monitor to the paper.

"Hey there, Carrots," Nick said timidly.

Judy let out a sigh, her ears dropping from their upright position.

"Leave, Nick," she responded, "I'm not talking to you right now."

"Wait, Carrots, hold on a minute. Can't we just talk about this?" he protested. "It's not like we can ignore this forever."

"Oh yeah? _Try me,_ " she snapped, eyes still on her work.

"Please, Carrots, will you at least take these?" he begged, extending the flowers to her. "I had them hand-picked by Mr Otterton for you."

Her office chair slowly swiveled around. She stood up from her seat. Angrily, she snatched the flowers from his hands before shoving them back in the fox's face. She started reaching for the doorknob, unable to stand the mere presence of her ex-partner.

"Judy, please!" he whimpered.

Her paw stopped. She didn't remember the last time he had used her real name.

Slowly, her arm pulled away from the door, folding atop her other arm, her back turned to Nick brazenly.

"Look, Carrots...I'm sorry," Nick started. The bunny didn't move. "I messed up. I was acting like a fool...and you didn't deserve to get hurt because of it," he blurted out. There was a brief pause. "I didn't _mean_ for this to happen to you, Judy. You know I would never purposefully cause you pain. It's just that...I mean I was... I was just _scared,"_ he admitted. "The first time I saw you stand up for Etson...I didn't know how to feel. Why were you standing up for him, and not me? And then you offered him a place to stay and I got so...so _angry._ " Nick explained. "I started looked for something - anything - that was wrong with him, just so that I could...well...get him away from you. Maybe if I could catch him doing something terrible...you would stop working with him." Nick stared at the ground, shamefully holding the flowers. "Now...now I realize how nonsensical the whole thing was. What I did and how I thought...it was wrong. I saw everything happening and I...I panicked. I thought that love was some game I could win, and that Etson was a competitor. What I'm trying to say, Judy, is that I...I..."

The bunny's ears rasied in disbelief. Was Nick...crying?

"I've never loved someone the same way I love you," he said softly, tears beginning to roll down his muzzle. "I know that you might never forgive me for how I treated you. But...but I hope that you can at least understand how sorry I am. I guess...I guess I just don't know how to love yet," Nick told her. Droplets fell from his chin onto the floor. He sniffled, wiping off the tears. "You're the most important thing in the world to me, Judy. And...and nothing is going to change that."

Judy remained with her back to the fox, completely still. Her uptight shoulders sank with her ears as she let out a sigh. She couldn't walk away from him when he was like this.

She turned around. Nick's eyes were closed, head and ears pointed downwards in remorse. She took the flowers from his right paw, placing them atop her desk. She looked up at her partner. Her paws slowly levitated up towards his muzzle, the fur on his face warm and wet. She wiped away his tears, her thumbs acting as tiny windshield wipers.

The bunny sighed. "Hey," she breathed, "Look at me."

The fox's eyelids lifted, his pupils staring into Judy's.

"Nobody could _ever_ make me love you less."

Nick sniffled. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry for being such a territorial predator."

"Hey, don't say that," she replied. "I was the one who overreacted... and called you something I knew you hated just to hurt you. I should have been more understanding. I'm...I'm sorry. "

Nick sighed.

"We're some partners, aren't we?"

"Oh, so we're partners again?"

They both smiled. The room was entirely silent as the two animals stared into each other's eyes. Slowly, their smiles faded into gazes of affection.

"Nick?" Judy asked, her paws still on his muzzle.

"Yes?"

"I think I'm in love with you."

"No," he replied, pausing for a moment.

"I think _I'm_ in love with _you_."

Their heartbeats began to race in unison, in sharp contrast with the lengthening seconds. The silence was amplified, the two animals charging it with electricity. Nick's paws drifted behind the rabbit's hips. Their heads leaned towards one another.

For a moment, everything faded from existence, their thoughts entirely occupied by one another. He didn't care that she was a bunny. She didn't care that he was a fox. Nothing could make this feel any less _right._

Their lips collided, pure bliss sealing the bond between predator and prey. Passion ran through their veins as they sank into one another, heat passing between them. An eternity could have passed. Or maybe it was only a few seconds. It was too perfect to matter.

Slowly, their mouths pulled away from each other, transitioning into a hug as Judy's head shifted to rest against Nick's chest. She looked up at him. They exchanged a look of realization.

"I...I liked that," Judy said, staring at her fox.

"Me too," he echoed, staring at his rabbit.

Things would never be the same between them. And that fact couldn't make them happier.

They remained there for a few minutes, enjoying one another's embrace.

"We...we should probably get back to work," Judy said, causing Nick to sigh as they released each other. Normally, she would have teased him for not wanting to work, but for the first time she could remember, she too was reluctant to start working again.

Judy picked up the flowers from the desk as Nick adjusted his tie.

"These flowers are really nice," she told him as she inspected them more closely. "Anemone, omithoalum, peonies...Mr Otterton knows his stuff."

"I'm glad you like them," Nick replied as he finished putting his tie into place. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "Let's go solve this case."

He opened the door for her, closing it as he passed through. They began walking towards the lobby, their paws clasped together.

* * *

"That's the end of the tour," Clawhauser exclaimed. "What did you think, Rory?"

"This place is boring," she said bluntly. Clawhauser sighed. "Where are Etson and Judy?"

"Well," he replied, noticing the raccoon sitting on one of the couches. "Etson is right there," he pointed. Rory's head swiveled around to look.

"Etson!" she ran over to him. As she got closer, she noticed that his eyes were more red and puffy than usual. He must have been been crying. "What happened?" she asked.

"Nozhing," he responded. "And...call me Reynard now. Not Etson."

The doe's brow furrowed confusedly. "Why?"

"Because," Reynard replied. "Zhat's just my name now."

"Ooookay..." Rory agreed, finding the sudden change somewhat odd. "Where's Judy?"

He shrugged, the mention of Judy causing him to wonder how Nick's apology was going.

Rory groaned, plopping herself down on the couch next to the raccoon. "I'm bored."

Reynard looked at the deer, an idea forming in his head. "Hold on one sec," he told her. "I'll be right back."

Rory cocked her head, watching as he ran up to the reception desk. He said something to Clawhauser, who nodded. The cheetah ducked behind the desk, passing Reynard a pen and a piece of paper. The raccoon walked towards Rory, taking back his place on the couch.

"What's that for?" she asked.

Reynard smiled. "Ever play zhe dot game?"

She shook her head. Reynard began to draw a grid of small points, filling up most of the paper, just as his father had shown him years earlier.

"Here is how you play," he explained. "We take turns drawing lines between any two dots on zhe paper. When you can complete a square by connecting zhe dots, you get a point and get to draw another line. Most points wins. Got it?"

Rory nodded. It seemed simple enough.

"You can go first," Reynard offered.

The deer drew a line in the very center of the paper, connecting two points. Reynard did likewise. They went back and forth, drawing lines on the paper. At first, it was easy to keep the other person from completing the square, but as the paper began to fill up, it became increasingly difficult.

Rory put her hoof to her chin, scanning the page for anywhere she could go. She drew a line between the points on the corner of the grid, causing Reynard to smirk.

"You could have gone here," he pointed out a spot on the other side of the grid. "Instead..." he connected a series of squares, Rory's hoof slapping against her face. How had she missed that? "I get fifteen points. Your move."

She sighed, looking over the paper again. She smiled in surprise. "You left that spot open for me!"

"Maybe," Reynard grinned in response. Rory shook her head. She drew a line between the two dots, leaving Reynard with no other moves. He connected two more points, making three sides of a square. Rory connected the last side, earning her another line, which she used to complete another square, continuing all the way until she had thirty three squares.

"Not bad," he teased. His expression changed as he noticed a fox and rabbit walking together down the hallway. "Oh hey, zhere's Nick and Judy!"

"Wait...did you say _Nick_ and Judy?" Rory asked.

"Yes. Why?" Reynard responded.

Rory's jaw dropped as the two partners approached.

"Hey guys," Judy greeted. "Rory, this is Nick, my partner. Nick, this is Rory, vandalizer."

"It's nice to meet you," he said, extending his paw out to the doe. She glanced at his paw, looked up at him, and glanced back at his paw, her mouth still open. In disbelief, she shook his paw.

"You're...you're Nick Wilde," she muttered.

"So you've heard of me?" he chuckled.

"I'm...I'm like your biggest fan!" she exclaimed. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh I can't believe it's really you."

Nick laughed.

"I've heard stories about all of your greatest cons," Rory explained, giddy with excitement. "There was the fur waxing, the taxi drives, the speed racing..."

Nick's face shifted from a lighthearted smile to a nervous one, fingering his collar anxiously. Judy began to glare at him as Rory trailed off.

"...and then you did the-"

"Yes, yes, I did all of those," Nick interrupted, somewhat embarrassed. "So, uh...do you hustle mammals too?"

"Oh, all the time," Rory boasted. "You're like my idol. I wish I could hustle like you did."

Nick was unsure whether to be flattered or to be ashamed, although Judy's stare made him feel like he should lean towards the latter.

"Well, good luck kid," he told her, "Hustling is a tough profession. But hey, this is Zootopia. Anyone can be anything. Isn't that right, Judy?"

The bunny rolled her eyes. "Can we please go back to solving the case?"

"Aw, you're no fun," Rory pouted.

"They call her Officer Buzzkill for a reason," Nick joked, causing Rory to giggle and Reynard to smile.

Judy sighed. Great. Now she had to deal with two of them.

"Let's just go to the office," she said, shaking her head as she led the way down the corridor.

* * *

 **Next chapter is here! This one has been by far THE hardest to write, due to how much of an impact it has on the characters. I'm curious to hear what you guys think about this, so as always please leave a review. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

-Chapter 14-

The door slammed shut as the last of the four animals filed into the office. Judy let out a sigh, placing a manila folder down on the desk in the center of the room, having read through the evidence one final time to ensure that she hadn't missed any important new details. The other three animals stood in a circle around the bunny.

"Alright, Rory," Judy spoke. Her head rotated to look over her shoulder at the doe, her body mimicking the motion a moment later. "Spill."

Rory's eyebrows raised, feeling somewhat taken aback by the rabbit's audacious order. "I already told you about how I was involved in this whole thing. What else do you want?"

"Give me details. Anything and everything you know about and did for Fasco," she specified, holding up her carrot pen as she stared at the deer. "We're going to crack this case by the end of the night."

Rory inhaled, preparing herself for the long-winded explanation she was about to give. "Okay. So you already know about how he blackmailed me into working for him when he caught me on the street pickpocketing, blah blah blah," her hoof opened and closed three times in imitation of a talking motion. "After that, he and his guards drove me to this building in Sahara Square, where Fasco told me I would be getting my first 'job' from him."

"What did zhe building look like?" Reynard asked.

"Well, it was more of a factory, really," Rory described. "It was made of bricks and had a large delivery bay for trucks with a large sign that had the company name."

"What did the sign say?" Judy questioned.

The doe glanced to the side, a frown across her face. "I...uh...didn't know how to read it," she replied, swallowing nervously. "I...never learned."

The three exchanged glances of stark realization mixed with sympathy as Rory shamefully rubbed her arm.

"Why don't we continue the story?" Nick asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Right, uh...where was I?" Rory stared off for a moment, before her eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I was talking about how Fasco would give me the jobs," she remembered. She cleared her throat as she continued. "So, like I was saying earlier... Fasco and his goons were escorting me through this factory place. They walked with me through a lobby area and into a private room, where Fasco explained to me, very discreetly, how, where, and when to break into this one shop in the Savannah District."

"Edvin Klosen..." Judy muttered, the doe not seeming to notice.

"He also made it very clear that I...uh...wouldn't want to mess with him," Rory nervously chewed on her lip. "Then he left, saying that he had something else that was more important he had to take care of, taking his guards with him. And then...then his wife came in like I told you about."

Nick was confused. He must have missed something earlier. "His...wife? You're telling me someone's actually married to that scumbag?"

Rory nodded. "She's nice. I like her."

"His wife was the one who wrote the sticky notes," Judy told Nick, filling him in on the details.

Nick's ears perked up at the mention of sticky notes. "Wait, you caught Rory as she was breaking into vandalize the place, right?"

Reynard and Judy glanced back skeptically, before nodding their heads yes.

"And did you collect the note that she was going to leave at the place?" Nick asked.

The rabbit and raccoon looked at each other, somewhat dumfounded. "We, uh...we didn't zhink about that," Reynard sheepishly admitted.

Nick put his paws on his knees, bending over to confront Rory. "Did Mrs. Fasco give you a note for that place?" he questioned.

"Yep," she replied, reaching into the small pockets of her skinny jeans. "Here you go." She handed the crumpled up paper to Nick.

"Thanks, kid," he smiled, rubbing the fur on her head as he stood up again. "Ahem," he cleared his throat. " _I will not rest until we are truly equal,"_ he paused as they all let the words soak in. "Well, I can't say I expected anything else."

Reynard's eyebrows suddenly condensed, a look of suspicion sweeping across his face. Rory, looking up at him, noticed this.

"Whatcha thinking?" she asked him.

"I...I zhink I've heard zhat somewhere before," Reynard answered. "Read it again for me."

Nick did as requested. " _I will not rest until we are truly equal."_

Reynard shook his head, frustrated by his inability to remember. "Maybe...maybe try reading zhe ozher notes."

Judy raised an eyebrow, as she turned around and began searching through the folder on the desk for the evidence.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, Rory," Nick said, snapping his fingers together. "Why didn't you leave a note at Reynard's cafe?"

"Mrs. Fasco never got the chance to give me one," the doe explained. "Fasco would always have a guard take me off the street back to the factory place whenever he wanted me to do something for him... and then Mrs. Fasco would talk with me after he finished. But for Reynard's cafe... he met me in person, so I didn't see his wife."

"Why did you still spray paint the letters, then?" Nick wondered. "And why did he meet you in person?"

"Because the first time she told me to always do it. 'Every time you do something for my husband' she said, 'make sure you spray paint those letters.' But as to why Fasco met me in person..." Rory shrugged. Nick nodded contemplatively, considering all of the information she had just given to him.

"Ah! Here they are," Judy exclaimed, drawing the attention of the rest of the group. "The two other sticky notes," she passed them to Reynard, who eagerly snatched them away.

His eyes scanned the lines of text, a look of realization sweeping over him.

"Zhat's it!" he proclaimed, quickly scurrying behind the desk to the computer, wiggling the mouse in a fury to wake up the screen.

"What? What did you find?" Judy asked, the group suddenly anxious to see what Reynard had discovered.

"Zhe notes..." Reynard started to explain, his attention divided as he typed in and clicked on what he was searching for. "Zhey're all quotes from zhis one speech."

"Speech? What speech?" Judy asked.

Reynard turned the monitor around atop the desk. "Zhis speech," he told them, displaying the transcript for them. "Zhis was given by zhe Alimandish leader Zetrau Nebul to zhe citizens of Zootopia," the raccoon said, bombarded by an array of confused looks. He sighed. "Nebul is zhe biggest predator rights advocate in Alimand. He's very much a leader of zhe city. Probably would be Premier by now if he was legally allowed to hold office," he remarked.

"Well, if the notes are anything like the rest of his speech, I'm not a fan," Nick commented. "Too poetic and justice-y."

"Anyways," Reynard continued, "zhis speech in particular... was given after zhe lifting of zhe travel ban. You see, for years Zootopians weren't allowed to visit Alimand because of zhe animal rights violations. Lionheart lifted zhe ban a year or so ago, hoping that more travel and exposure to Alimand would result in more animals appalled into taking action. Nebul gave zhis speech as a sign of goodwill and rebuilding."

"And he gave the whole thing in Zootopian?" Judy asked.

"Yes. Although his accent is very noticeable."

Judy scanned through the document, trying to pick out the phrases that were associated with the P.P.P. vandalizations. Reynard was right - the sticky notes had all been quotes.

"Out of curiosity...what made you suddenly remember this?" Nick asked the raccoon.

"I watched a lot of speeches when I was first learning Zootopian," Reynard admitted. "I would always put zhem on wizh subtitles to help me learn zhe language. When you read zhe note, I thought it sounded familiar."

"Hm," Nick replied. Political speeches seemed like torture to him, but if they helped Reynard, he supposed that he had no right to say anything.

Nick sighed, shaking his head. "You know, there's something I still don't understand about this whole situation," he confessed.

Judy and Reynard turned to him quizzically.

" _Why_ did Mrs. Fasco do this?" Nick asked. "It doesn't really make sense. What reason does she have for spray painting P.P.P. and placing strange notes at all the places they vandalized?"

"I zhought we said earlier it was a political issue," Reynard replied. "Zhe notes were zhere for social justice...right?"

Judy tapped her chin with the carrot pen. "Y'know, I think Nick might be onto something," she said, her paws tracing the events in a web through the air as she spoke. "If Mrs. Fasco wanted to send a political message, why would she do it like this? It's all so muddled and hard to decode that no normal animal would understand it. And on top of that, there's been zero media coverage of the whole thing, which is kinda important if you want to start a movement."

"Okay...so if zhe notes weren't made for zhe masses," the raccoon asked, "zhen who were zhey made for?"

Nick's eyes widened.

"Us," he exclaimed, causing the other three animals to stare at him. "They were made for us."

The fox's head began to nod as he went through a mental checklist of the facts again. "Just think about it. Mrs. Fasco _knew_ that only the police would be seeing whatever happened at the crime scene. The messages have to be for us."

There was a pause as the words sank in.

Judy's eyebrows furrowed. "But...then what is she trying to say to us? How do the Prey Protection Program and a speech by an Alimandish civil rights leader relate to us at all?"

"Well, Fasco was talking to zhat Alimandish jaguar at city hall..."

"Aside from that?" she pressed.

Silence.

Nick sighed. That was the part he was stumped on as well. "Look, I have no idea. But I have a feeling that there's a reason Mrs. Fasco always talked to Rory in private. Whatever she's trying to tell us...she doesn't want her husband to know about it."

Judy groaned, angrily placing the folder down on the desk again. "Great. Just great," she said agitatedly, walking behind the desk to the chair where Reynard was seated. "Do you mind if I-"

"Oh, yeah, go ahead," Reynard responded, getting up from the chair. He walked around the desk, moving to stand next to Rory. Judy hopped into the leather seat, rolling it closer to the desk so that she could reach the mouse.

"What are you doing, Carrots?" Nick asked her.

"City hall is a government building," she said, as if that explained everything.

"Yeah. And the sky is blue. What's your point?" he retorted.

"My point," Judy replied, "is that we have access to all of the security cam footage there. And if Fasco talked to someone from Alimand..."

"...then we can identify who it is based on the cameras," Nick realized. "Good thinking, Fluff."

Rory looked around at the two police officers around her, her imagination captivated. The way they all worked together as a well oiled machine was a spectacle to watch. She wondered if maybe, one day, she could be as good at something as they were at their jobs.

"Let's see..." Judy clicked through the cameras. She stopped and started watching the one that monitored the front desk, fast forwarding through until she saw the jaguar. "Okay, here he is," she announced as she zoomed in on his face. She turned the screen around to show the rest of the animals. "We need to figure out who this animal is."

Nick squinted as he stared at the jaguar, scanning through the database of animals he knew for a match. "I got nothing," he shook his head.

Judy raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? What happened to 'I know everybody'?"

"Hey, he's from Alimand. It doesn't count," Nick smirked.

Reynard's smile faded, his expression harboring contempt. "So what you're saying...is zhat if zhey're from Alimand zhey don't count as real mammals?" Reynard argued.

Nick's ear suddenly dropped, his face becoming flustered. "No, I uh-It's not like that, I just -"

Reynard laughed. "I'm just messing wizh you," he slapped the fox on the back lightheartedly. "I know what you meant."

Nick smiled embarrassedly. "You really had me there for a second," he admitted, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll give you that one."

"I guess we're almost even zhen-"

"I got it," Judy interrupted, seemingly too entrenched in identifying the animal to notice their conversation. "If you follow his path on the cams, he walks back to the embassy. And from there..." she typed something on the keyboard, clicking through the database. "We can figure out that the jaguar's name is Damien Kissal. He's the Alimandish ambassador to the city."

"Ambassador? What's that?" Rory questioned.

"It's someone who represents anozher city," Reynard explained, looking down at the doe. "Zhey speak on behalf of zheir people in ozher cities." Rory nodded in understanding.

"What's he doing with the ambassador anyways?" Nick asked, adding, "Somehow I doubt that it's just a policy discussion."

Judy sighed. "I still have no idea." She plopped her head down into her paws in frustration. "We have all of these dead ends with no way to connect them. There's one thing that we're missing...I know it."

The room was silent, the three older animals all considering their options.

Rory yawned loudly, breaking the spell of the quietness.

"Sounds like someone is tired," Reynard grinned at the doe.

"I am not!" she protested. "I'm completely awake. Not tired at all."

"Mm-hmm. Whatever you say," he teased. "Tell you what. You and I can leave to find a hotel while Nick and Judy try to sort zhis out. Is zhat okay wizh you guys?"

Nick and Judy looked at each other. Alone time together sounded nice.

"Sounds good to me," Nick said.

"Me too," Judy agreed, "as long as Rory is okay with it."

Rory hesitated, considering the proposal. "...Fine," she conceded.

"Good," Reynard replied, smiling. "We'll see you two here in the morning, yes?"

The cops both nodded. "See you tomorrow," Nick wished them well.

They waved goodbye, and stepped out of the office door.

"Well, that was nice of him," Judy remarked as the door shut.

Nick smiled. "Yes. Yes it was."

They stared at each other longingly for a moment.

"The case," Judy snapped them out of it. "We're working on the case."

Nick sighed, leaning against the desk. An expression of unsurety came across his muzzle.

Judy picked up on this. "Nick...what's wrong?"

He didn't respond for a moment. "It's just..." he paused. "Do you think we're making a mistake?"

The bunny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Nick replied. The rabbit's ears sagged. "I know you're aware of the elephant in the room. We can't just pretend like it's not there anymore," he said, swallowing. "We can't be partners and a couple, Judy."

She stared at the ground. She knew he was right. For one thing, there were strict rules against workplace fraternization, and for good reason. Being too close with someone else could inhibit rational thought and action, instead being overridden by overly emotional decisions. It would be one thing if they both worked office jobs, but as police officers where split second decisions could mean life or death...it just didn't work. Bogo would have no choice but to split them up if and when word leaked out. And she had no idea what she would do then.

"I don't know," the rabbit said unemotionally. She sighed. No less than an hour ago, everything had seemed right. When she had kissed him, nothing could be more perfect. She knew that she loved him, and that he loved her. That seemed like the only thing in the world to matter. But now...now she was faced with a question, an inevitable question which she had been ignoring ever since they had solved their first case: which Nick did she love more? There was the Nick from the cruiser who was always finding a way to make her laugh through some witty joke, the Nick who directed her naïve determination with the street smarts she lacked to succeed, the Nick who was forever her companion and her...partner.

And then there was the other Nick. The romantic Nick. The one that made her heart race in what she could only describe as pure ecstasy, the one who was able to swoon her on demand with his sweet talk, the one who was deeply and emphatically and forever her...lover.

Judy sighed exasperatedly. "It's not fair, Nick," she told him, her head held up by her arm as she tried to hold back tears. "Why do we have to decide? Why do I have to choose which parts of you I like most?"

Nick didn't say anything. He _almost_ regretted kissing her. He hadn't wanted to shatter such a wonderful experience, but now that he was out of the heat of the moment...he was having second thoughts. Yes, it had been perfect. Yes, he loved her. But it had magnified a previously minor conflict in their relationship, and he didn't know if that was going to be good for them in the end.

"You know...It's a shame we're so perfect for each other," he remarked sarcastically. "Of all the problems to have..."

"I just..." Judy sniffled, "I just don't know which us is best."

There was a pause.

"Look, Judy," he said, his tone endearing. She turned towards him. "I know how much you love this job. You're living out your dream. You're helping to fix a broken city. If I can help you to do that...then that's all that really matters to me."

"What...what are you saying?"

"Judy..." he stared into her eyes, "All I want for you is to be happy. Nothing else matters to me. Because..." his voice started to shake, "because if I can go to bed every night knowing that I am doing all I can to make your life the best it can be..."

The light refracted through the water that was pooling near his eyes.

"Then I know that my life will be worth living."

The fox and the bunny remained locked in a stare. Tears ran down their faces in near perfect synchronization, an outward manifestation of their tied fates.

"Nick..."

"Hold on one second, I've got try to find a way to husk all of that corniness," he joked. Judy laughed.

"You should let me do it," she replied shrewdly, "I'm just a bunny farmer, remember?"

This time Nick laughed. They wiped their tears away together, smiles overtaking their distraught faces.

Judy looked up at the fox. She loved him. And finally, after so many months...she knew how.

"I think...I think I know what I want."

Nick's ears perked up.

"Ever since I was a kid...all I've ever wanted to do is make the world a better place. To help, to serve, to protect...it's what I was born to do. That's my purpose in life. And..." she swallowed, "and I can't think of anything that would make me happier than living out that purpose with you," she paused. "Partner."

A smile crept across Nick's face. "Ah, c'mere, you dumb bunny," he invited, extending his arms out. Judy slid out of the office chair, walking around the desk. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sinking into his embrace.

"Thank you, Nick," she whispered as they hugged.

"No, thank you, Carrots," he whispered back. "You saved me."

The two kept hugging, enjoying the saccharinity of the moment.

"So, should we get back to cracking this case, Officer Hopps?" Nick asked.

"Good idea, Officer Wilde," she replied. They slowly pulled away from each other. "Let's do this."

She extended a closed fist. Nick shot her his signature fiendish smile, and bumped his fist into hers.

* * *

 **All aboard the friendship! Another emotional chapter, as all of the characters (and author) try to figure out what the heck is going on. As always, please leave a review telling me your thoughts!**


	15. Chapter 15

-Chapter 15-

Reynard reached into his pocket, pulling a small plastic card from his jeans. He fumbled around with the thing, rotating it so that the direction which the arrow was facing was pointed towards the door. He slid the card into the slit above the handle, unlocking the door and allowing him and the doe to enter.

The two of them glanced around the room. The ground was blanketed with a thick layer of soft carpet (as was the case with most hotels). Reynard had been sure to get a room with two beds at a little extra personal expense, as sharing a bed was out of the question and he didn't want to force Rory onto the floor. Both beds were nicely made, a display of pillows atop the sheets.

 _Nick would abhor this wallpaper_ , Reynard thought to himself. The wallpaper in question was a curly, vertical vine design with interspersed flowers, a clear attempt to make the room look more dainty and inviting, although in actuality it made it look more tacky and amateurish. Aside from that, however, it was a typical hotel room. There was a phone with business cards and pamphlets on top of the night stand between the two beds, and a dresser up against the opposite wall.

Reynard snapped his fingers together, the dresser reminding him of something. "I don't have fresh clozhes for tomorrow," he said. He hadn't exactly had time to go shopping for new clothes, so he had been restricted to what clothes he had on his back. Of course, after a hectic twenty four hours without changing, his nose was starting to notice a certain odor coming off of him. "Alzhough I can zhank you for zhat, I guess," he joked. "Because of you all of my clothes are just a pile of ashes."

Rory smiled. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't have anything fresh tomorrow either," she replied. "Officer Bucktooth didn't exactly let me pack a suitcase."

"Judy just takes her work very seriously," he tried to explain to her.

For some reason, Reynard didn't feel hardly any anger towards Rory, in spite of how much anger he still felt at the loss of his cafe. He knew that deep down, Rory was probably a good doe, just as he had been, but that she had just been caught up in the wrong crowd at a young age.

"Well, I guess zhat we're going to have to do zome shopping in zhe morning," Reynard remarked. As he did so, his maw opened in a toothy yawn. "Right now, zhough, I just want to sleep."

Rory caught his yawn, causing the raccoon to grin.

"And it looks like you do too," he commented. "C'mon, let's go to bed."

Rory didn't even try to argue at that point. Or maybe it was that she was too tired to argue. These past few days had been some of the most eventful that she could remember, between the various vandalizations and the chase and capture by the police.

She plopped herself on the bed, shoving the pillows off in one swoop, wiggling underneath the covers.

He flicked the lights off and took off his sweatshirt and the shirt underneath, revealing the thick, light gray fur of his belly. He too started taking the pillows off of the bed, removing all but the one he intended to sleep on. Reynard pulled the tightly made sheets from the bed, creating a cavity which he nestled himself in.

"Good night," Reynard said.

The room went silent. Reynard decided that he was going to stay up until he was sure that Rory had fallen asleep, just to make sure that she wasn't going to try anything. Being a raccoon he had excellent night vision, which meant that he could almost perfectly watch everything that was going on in the room. He watched as her chest moved up and down, breathing in and out. Rory seemed to be asleep, her breaths becoming noticeably heavier as she began to lapse into unconsciousness. She rolled over, her head now facing Reynard's bed, allowing the raccoon to make out her face. He was pretty sure it would be okay to fall asleep now and, after waiting a few more minutes just to be sure, he let his eyes began to droop. Slowly, his eyelids started to shut, his muscles slackening as he drifted into sleep. A few minutes later, he was snoring loudly.

Rory's eyes suddenly flicked open. He bought it.

She slowly peeled the covers off of her, trying to contain the adrenaline rush that she was getting. Quietly, she slipped out of the bed, the carpet absorbing the noise of her hoofs against the ground. She swallowed, letting out a quiet sigh. The adrenaline was in full swing now. She crept across the room, each step calculated and patiently executed. Her hoof reached down for the handle, pulse racing as she tried to keep herself from shaking as she slowly pressed down. She heard the latch in the doorknob slowly slide out, allowing her to sway the door open. She pushed her body through the doorway, being careful to make sure that the door shut quietly.

Rory let out a sigh of relief, and started running down the hallway for the stairs. She didn't want to risk getting stuck in the elevator, if for some reason Reynard figured out that she was gone. She swung open the door that led to the stairwell, her hooves clacking as she furiously ran down the cement flights of steps. She reached the ground level and swung the door open to the lobby, sprinting past the reception desk for the revolving door that led to the street. Rory breathed as she pushed the door, running into the dark street, only the sound of her footsteps audible.

"Rory!" a voice penetrated through the darkness. "Where are you going?"

 _Nonono he woke up,_ Rory's mind raced, panic setting in over her. Her paces began to coincide with her increasing heartbeat.

"Rory, stop!" Reynard yelled.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed back between breathes.

"No, wait!" he pleaded, "Why are you running away?"

The doe kept up her strides.

"Rory, please, listen to me!" he chased after her, but she was faster than him sans roller skates in spite of her smaller size. Reynard began to feel the desperation growing in his chest.

"Let me make a deal wizh you!" he shouted.

Her sprint came to an almost immediate halt.

"I'll...I'll let you go free..." he forced out. Judy was going to kill him for this. "All you have to do is just...hear me out, okay?"

Rory stood there in the dark, her back to the raccoon. Her breaths were short as she tried to intake air, her body jarred by the sudden stoppage.

Reynard stared at her, the nearby street light acting as if it was a spotlight in an otherwise black theater. He let out a hefty sigh, his shoulders and facial muscles sinking from their tense position into a more sentimental one.

"Look, Rory...I..." he trailed off, staring downwards as he tapped his fingers together, his nervousness manifesting itself in an old habit. Part of the anxiety was associated with the dread of the potential consequences he would have to face. But the majority came from...elsewhere. And he wasn't sure if he was ready to confront it yet.

His stare changed from the doe up to the streetlight which was above him. He had to do this. There was no backing down now. Not after becoming who he'd become today. Staring into the florescent light, he slowly opened his mouth to speak.

"I...I know what you're feeling right now," he told her. He swallowed. "I know you just want to leave everyzhing. Zhat it's just easier if you keep running away...If you keep leaving everyzhing behind. And I know zhis because..." he turned his back to the doe "because I was like you."

The doe kept breathing steadily, the darkness giving her a false confidence of concealment that helped her to hide her emotions. She remained resolute. She was not going to let his words into her.

"I know zhat you zhink nobody understands you. Zhat nobody knows what it's like to live as an orphan," Reynard continued, night vision fixed on the deer. His tone was soft and tender, yet still somehow carried through the air. "Rory...my parents died when I was eleven," he swallowed the words away. "I _know_ how lonely you are. You look at zhe ozher kids...you look at your friends...and you know how different you are from zhem. You know zhat you will _never_ be zhe same as zhem, so you leave," he told her. Or maybe he was telling this to himself. He wasn't sure anymore. "You run, and hide, and try to somehow find a way to get by...to somehow find a way to _survive_. And zhe whole time...you wonder how life can be so unfair. Zhe ozher kids..." his voice became gradually more elevated, "zhey get to play games. Zhey get to have birzhday parties. Zhey get to go laugh. And...and Zhey get to have _parents!_ " he spilled, confessing all of the insecurities he'd ever had to the doe. It was as if weights were being lifted from his chest as he continued to vent. "And you...you have to be an adult because there's no ozher choice," he explained, becoming self-provoked. "Rory, I single handedly ran a restaurant at age zhirteen! Zhirteen! I did everyzhing by myself because I _had to_. If I didn't make enough, zhen I had no food. I ate out of _dumpsters,_ Rory. My life was just trying to hold on. And zhe whole time..." he choked as his voice's pent up anger was replaced with quiet sadness. "All I ever wanted was a childhood."

A tear rolled down Rory's cheek. Her ears had progressively begun to droop farther and farther, each word Reynard spewed incrementally crushing her with the reality they provided.

"Rory..." Etson paused, contorting his face to hold back tears. "Please don't be like me. Please don't be break yourself like I did. You can come back. You can -"

"Shut up!" she interrupted, angered that he had stirred her insides this badly. She never cried. Crying meant that she was weak. And weakness wasn't tolerable. "I'm never going back."

"Why not?" Reynard protested.

"Because there is no back!" she yelled into the darkness. "My mom died giving birth to me and my dad ran off. I've always been like this. There is nobody for me to go back to!"

She began to sob, the blackness around her no longer comforting. She wiped her tears away from her eyes, pausing for a brief moment between sobs to speak.

"Nobody will want some stupid orphan like me."

Rory felt so weak and exposed, but it was this that gave her meek words their power.

Reynard shook his head, his arms folded. "No," he told her. "You're wrong."

He heard a sniffle in the distance.

"How do you know?" she asked.

Reynard looked back at the streetlight. How did he know that? It had been just a few hours ago that he didn't. But he wasn't the him from a few hours ago.

"Rory," he started to tell her,"Zhere are mammals everywhere who are willing to fix you," he realized as he stared into the bulb. These words...they weren't just for her. They were for him too. "All you have to do is let zhem."

There was a pause.

 _Was this what moving on felt like?_

"You still have a chance to be a child. Please...use it," Reynard implored.

The doe began sprinting again. Streams ran down her face. She had been opened up too much, and she needed something to sew her shut. Her hooves clacked against the pavement as she ran.

She shoved her head into Reynard's chest, nearly knocking him over due to the force. She had run back to him. Back to the light.

He wrapped his arm around her, escorting her to the elevator. They stumbled back to the room, Rory's muted sobs the only audible noise. Reynard slipped the key card into the door. Slowly, they walked to their beds, pulling the covers over their heads in silence.

"Good night, Rory," Reynard whispered.

Everything was peaceful. The minutes went by, both of the two mammals unable to feel anything but relief as they tried to sleep. Reynard felt his eyes become heavy, and he slid into sleep in complete serenity.

Rory heard Reynard's snores once again, an indicator that he was asleep. She let out a sigh. In an odd way, she felt more free than she ever had before. She had been captured and forced into giving up information. Yet for these past few hours, she had lost all of her responsibilities, and it was impossible for her to stop crying tears of joy because of it.

She slipped out of the sheets, the sound of her hooves once again dampened by the carpet. She walked across the room, although this time she wasn't headed for the door. She looked again at the sleeping raccoon, his toothy mouth hanging open. An appreciative smile crept across the doe's face. Gingerly, she climbed atop of his bed, doing her best not to wake him. She very slowly wiggled her way underneath his sheets. Tears still flowing, she buried her face in the soft fur of his chest. Slowly, her eyelids began to sag, the warmth of the raccoon's protection lulling her into a sleep.

* * *

The sun slowly crept into the room, the light stretching across the beds and over the two mammals.

Reynard, his body's internal clock sensing that it was time to get up, began to fall back into consciousness. He looked around the room as his eyes opened, taking a moment to remember where he was. He went to sigh, when he noticed that something was atop of his chest. He glanced down. Rory was calmly asleep, his fur serving as her pillow. Reynard smiled, his heart warming.

 _She must have crawled over in the middle of the night_ , he figured. She had still been sobbing when he had fallen asleep. _Poor thing,_ he thought as he stroked her head. Knowing how caustic she normally was, it gave Reynard an odd sense of connection as she allowed him to see her so vulnerable. Mammals like her didn't often show their docile sides to others, and when they did, it was always intentional, even a bestowal of a badge of honor. It made him feel good to know that she looked up enough to him. Even though it had only been a few hours they'd spent together, he already had begun to feel obligated to help her. After all, with a life like her's, she was probably one of the mammals who was the most deserving of help.

Rory slowly opened her eyes. Reynard watched.

"Good morning," he greeted.

She jolted away from him, practically falling off the bed. Reynard smiled. She had forgotten what had happened the night before, the voice of the raccoon startling her.

"Relax," he told her. "It's just me."

Rory let out a sigh, her situation returning to her memory. She sat cross legged at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall sheepishly.

Reynard nervously looked at the doe. "You...you came to my bed last night."

Her eyes darted to glare at him. "Tell anyone and you die," she threatened.

Reynard grinned. There was the Rory he knew. "Well, it's good to see zhat you're back to normal," he remarked, adding, "Are you ready to go and get zome food?"

She nodded, hopping off the bed. Reynard followed suit, picking his sweatshirt up off the ground and pulling it over his head.

"What's on the menu?" Rory wondered.

"The hotel has complimentary breakfast," he told her. "So whatever zhey serve us, I guess."

Rory nodded. She was so hungry that she was willing to eat just about anything.

Reynard held the door open for the doe, allowing her to walk out in front of him. The door slammed shut behind them.

* * *

The elevator dinged as the raccoon and the fawn stepped out into the hotel lobby. There was a small nook off of the main area with a small countertop that was filled with assorted foods, which Reynard took to be the area where breakfast was being served. The aromas confirmed his suspicion, a wave of various foods bombarding his nose and making his mouth water. There were lots of mammals gathered around, sitting around the room at various tables enjoying their meals.

They quickly made their way over to the food. Rory shoveled fruit and leaves onto her plate, while Reynard sampled a little of everything.

"Mmm..." Reynard commented. "All of zhis food, it looks so delizious."

Everything in the room stopped.

All of the mammals in the room, regardless of whether they were previously engaged in their own conversations or merely passing through the area, turned to face the raccoon. Reynard didn't seem to notice, too occupied by the buffet in front of him. Rory stared back at all of the mammals, wondering what they were looking at.

She looked around at everyone in the room. What were they looking at? She looked at Reynard again. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. It wasn't like he was naked or something, although for some reason everyone in the room made it seem like he was.

"That raccoon..." one hippo whispered to the person across the table from him, "is he Alimandish?"

"I...I think so," the other replied, dumfounded.

Rory watched in confusion as a couple that had been seated in the back of the room promptly stood up, hurrying to push their chairs in. Another three mammals, noticing them, decided to do similarly, now in a panic to exit as quickly as possible.

All of this...because of the way he talked?

"C'mon Rory," he told her, having finished loading up the plate. "Let's find somewhere to sit."

As they moved throughout the room, the eyes of the some of the mammals followed them, while others went back to the conversational partners they had earlier. Slowly, things resumed again.

Reynard started to fork at his food, cutting it up and putting it into his mouth. He was aware of the extra eyes that were watching him, but he gave no outward signs to reflect his inner anger with the situation. Instead, his focus turned to the silent TV that was mounted on the wall displaying the news, subtitles on the bottom annotating what the newscasters were saying.

 _"...worsening riots in Alimand...more animals flee to other cities seeking safety...over ten in critical condition from savage Alimandish wolf...Fasco demands monitoring of Alimandish predator refugees...frontrunner giraffe candidate Victoria Thuda drops in polls as Fasco rises..."_

He sighed, shaking his head in contempt as he finished the last of his food. Politics. The dirtiest work in the world.

"You ready to go?" he asked Rory as she too munched up the last leaf on her plate.

"Yeah," she replied. Reynard got up out of his seat, picking up her plate and utensils and placing them atop of his.

"Reynard," Rory started, biting on her lip nervously, "why...why do they look at you like that?"

He froze. His eyes looked back at her, letting out a sigh as his shoulders slouched. "I wish I knew," he looked down at the ground somberly as he stood up to put their plates away. Rory watched intently, her shoulders now also slouching.

So it was because of the way he talked.

* * *

The door swung open as the two animals walked into the shop, Reynard again holding the door open for the fawn. Now that they were full of food, it was time to finally buy some fresh clothes. They had decided to stop at Targoat, as it was one of the stores within the closest proximity of their hotel and the ZPD.

"You go and find zomezhing zhat you like," he told Rory, "and zhen meet me back here at zhe checkout."

Out of the corner of his eye, a uniformed zebra noticed them.

Rory nodded, heading off to the kid section of the store. Reynard went in the opposite direction, going towards the medium mammals section. Providing clothes for every mammal in the city was a major task in stores like these, which in turn meant that the selection wasn't as good as a species-specific store, but Reynard didn't really mind. He had never been the fashionista type anyways.

He started browsing through the racks of clothing, holding items up to him to see if they would fit. He glanced around again, a zebra staff member a few feet away from him catching his attention. Incredulously, he went back to browsing, combing through the items as he walked through the section. The zebra followed him. Reynard was growing incredulous. He started taking odd routes to get to clothing racks he hadn't inspected yet, but still the zebra was right behind him.

 _Great,_ he thought. _I'm being profiled._

The zebra must of heard him talking with Rory, tipping him off to his Alimandish descent. Or maybe it was because he was just a dirty raccoon who he didn't trust in the shop. Not that it really mattered. He quickly grabbed the best fitting clothes he could find and stormed off back to the registers, where Rory was waiting.

Rory noticed his angry expression. "What's wrong?"

Reynard just shook his head. The world. That's what was wrong.

* * *

"Just give them a couple more minutes, Carrots," Nick urged. "I'm sure that they're on their way."

She tapped her foot impatiently. Time was precious, as her experience on the force had taught her. And right now, at least, Reynard and Rory were wasting it.

"Y'know... you should really consider loosening up a bit," he told her. "When was the last time you just sat back and relaxed?"

"Why would I need to do that?" she asked.

"You see, most mammals get this feeling called _stress_ ," he explained facetiously. "It's like fear, but more exhausting."

"You make it sound like I'm a psychopath," she replied jokingly, "when really you're just jealous."

Nick sported his trademark grin. "Well, there's a lot for me to be jealous of."

She smirked, shaking her head.

"Smooth fox."

He winked, pointing a finger pistol at her.

Their heads suddenly both turned as the doors at the front of the lobby opened. A raccoon, dressed in beige slacks and a red polo shirt walked through the entrance, a doe wearing faded jeans and a gray t-shirt with an design of a black rose in the center standing beside him.

"Well, speak of the devil," Nick remarked. "Sleep well?"

"Yes," Reynard replied, a slight smile leaking onto his face as he looked down at the doe. She glared threateningly back at him. "What about you guys?"

"Well, Nick here fell asleep in the office on multiple occasions," she snitched.

"C'mon, do you think I look this good without my beauty sleep?" he asked jokingly, taking a sip of the coffee he seemed to always be carrying around.

"So did you find anything after we left?" Rory asked. Secretly, she really wanted to see how this all played out. Even if she didn't outwardly show it, it filled her with excitement to watch the three older mammals do their work.

Judy let out a hefty sigh.

"You can take that as a no," Nick expressed. Even after the extra hours last night, the answer still eluded them.

"When did you guys go home?" Reynard wondered.

"Too late," Judy answered, adding, "This case is going to make me drive my head through a wall."

"Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out," Reynard assured her. "Sooner or later."

"Soon," she determined. "It's happening soon."

"I feel bad for Fasco," Nick commented. "Once Judy's got her mind on something...it always happens."

"Always?" Reynard asked skeptically.

"Always," Nick confirmed. "There was this one time..."

Nick launched into storytelling mode, recanting one of the adventures they had had over the past couple months of being partners. Reynard listened and nodded contemplatively, Judy adding in bits and pieces of the story as he retold it. Rory's eyes began to wander around the room as the three older mammals continued to converse. The ZPD Headquarters was quite a large building, especially to a small doe such as herself. She glanced around at the various plants and other interior decorations, mapping where everything was based on the tour Clawhauser had given her.

Rory's head cocked to the side as her eyes fell upon the entrance. She glanced back at the three mammals, who were still talking, and slowly slipped away to go and investigate what she had seen. She wandered towards the scene, the pairing of a tiger and wolf officer pushing their way through the glass doors, holding by the arms a handcuffed wolf.

Meanwhile, the conversation was still going strong between the mammals when Judy's eyes suddenly widened in anxiety.

"Wait, where's Rory?"

Nick and Reynard's faces changed to match Judy's shocked expression. Where had she gone? Frantically, they began whirling around, looking for the doe. Reynard let out a sigh of relief.

"She's over zhere," he pointed to her, his legs spurring into action to go after her. Nick and Judy looked at each other, sighing in relief, before doing likewise. The three came up to her just as Rory approached the tiger and his partner.

"Hi there, Officers!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey there, kid," the officer with the nametag Fangmire replied, "Where are your parents?"

She ignored his question. "Why are you taking him away?" she asked, gesturing to the handcuffed wolf.

"Kid, listen, we've got important business to-"

"Rory!" Judy exclaimed, interrupting the tiger. "Don't run off like that without telling us."

"But-" Rory tried to protest.

"We're terribly sorry for her interrupting you, Fangmire and Delgato," Judy apologized. "She won't be bothering you again."

"You don't underst-"

Judy put a finger to the doe's muzzle.

"It's no problem, Hopps," Delgato replied. "We're taking this wolf back for interrogation."

"Yeah, we just got him from the hospital." Fangmire affirmed. He lowered his voice to a whisper, his paw blocking the words from the wolf. "You know him already. He's the one who went savage at the market."

The three older mammals instinctively recoiled, having seen first hand what carnage he had inflicted. Judy's finger came off of the doe's mouth, who remained undaunted by the new information.

"Him?" Rory pointed at the wolf. "He went savage?"

Fangmire nodded at the young doe. The wolf in question's eyes suddenly widened in panic, noticing the young doe, who was now wearing a confused expression.

"But..." she bit her lip, "but I know him."

The wolf winced.

"WHAT?" they all exclaimed in unison, the five mammals whirling their heads to look at the doe. Rory shrunk backwards, startled by the sudden and intense reaction they all had.

"You _know_ this wolf?" Delgato asked in shock. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"I tried, but-"

"How do you know him?" Judy quickly followed up, suddenly incredibly more interested in what she had to say.

"He was one of Fasco's escorts," she answered, somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden attention.

"Oh my gosh, this is too good," Nick laughed, shaking his head. "Fasco's behind these attacks too."

"What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Wolf?" Judy interrogated, glaring harshly at him.

The wolf swallowed nervously, but didn't say anything.

"He doesn't speak Zootopian," Delgato explained, turning to Reynard. "Everything he says is in Alimandish."

Five sets of eyes stared at the raccoon, the implication clear.

He sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to him," he agreed. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.

" _Malau, ci niest postre_..." he continued to speak in Alimandish as the rest of the group watched, " _you've gotten yourself into quite the predicament_."

The wolf breathed shallowly and quickly, made nervous by the raccoon.

"Go ahead, spill the beans, " Reynard kept speaking to him in his native tongue, "I'm not going anywhere."

"No!" the wolf yelled. "I can't!"

"Oh, I'm sure you can," Reynard retorted. "And I'm sure you will, or you'll face the consequences."

"Please," the wolf begged, his voice cracking in anguish, "you don't understand. I can't do this. They won't let me!"

Reynard's eyebrow furrowed. "They?" he asked. "Who's 'they?' Fasco?"

The wolf cringed. He had already said too much. "No...not Fasco," he admitted. There was a pause. "It was someone else."

"Who?"

"I told you already, I can't tell you!" the wolf yelled. "If I tell, then I don't get to see my family again...and I...I can't! Please, don't make me do this!"

Reynard let out a sigh. So there was more blackmail involved. He wasn't surprised.

"Okay, I didn't want to have to do this...but you leave me no choice," he said as he cracked his knuckles. He scowled as he fixed as he locked eyes with the wolf. "I have been living in this city for twelve years. I consider it my home. If you think _for even a second,_ that I will stand for you defacing it with your attacks, then you're sorely mistaken. So, let me ask you again. _Who. Are. You. Working. For_?"

The wolf looked around frantically, his breaths hollow and short. "My family-"

"I said tell me who you're working for!" Reynard screamed.

The other mammals around them looked at each other in surprise, wondering what was being said. Nobody had ever seen the raccoon this angry before.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" he spat, words fueled by a vigorous moral animosity. "Because of _you_ , mammals all over the city run at the sound of my voice, worried that the big bad Alimandish mammal will lash out at them! You deserve to pay for what you've done to every Alimandish mammal in this city! You ruined our lives... You...you despicable...dirty..." Reynard shook, his face twitching with anger. "... _pazhtao!"_

The word crackled through the air, it's voltage apparent even to those who didn't know its meaning.

The wolf's face melted into pure shame. That word, and all of its associations...he knew they applied to him right now. He looked to the side, not wanting to make eye contact with Reynard.

"It was the Alimandish government," he admitted softly, clearly rattled. "They meet in a packaging plant downtown. They would order me around and I would do what they told me. That's all I know," he explained, voice cracking frequently as he held back tears. "They offered me freedom from prison and the chance to see my family if I did what they told me. I didn't want to do any of this...but...but I love my family too much," he began to sob. "I need to see them again. I'm sorry."

Reynard broke his stare with the wolf, his eyes wandering towards Nick and Judy.

"It was zhe Alimandish government," he said, switching back to Zootopian. Everyone's eyes widened. "Zhey worked with Fasco to plan the attacks. He said zhey have a base of operations out of a packaging plant in Sahara Square."

Nick's eyebrow furrowed as he stared off into the distance.

 _Packaging plant..._ his mind raced through the possibilities, scanning through all of the areas he knew. Something about that detail struck a nerve with him. He went through the case info again. Fasco...Alimandish government...P.P.P...

His jaw slowly dropped open. That was it.

"I know where the plant is," he said, suddenly spurred out of his daze.

"Wha-?" Judy was interrupted by Nick grabbing her arm as he began to practically drag her across the lobby.

"Thank you Fangmire and Delgato, we'll see you later," he waved goodbye as he pulled his partner in the direction of the office.

The wolf and tiger looked at each other, wondering what had just happened as the four other mammals ran off after Nick.

The fox ran down the hallway hurriedly, wrenching open the door. He darted towards the computer, wiggling the mouse to wake up the display.

"C'mon, c'mon...go faster," he urged the machine.

"Nick, what's going on?" Judy asked, still somewhat annoyed with how he had grabbed her arm.

"P.P.P doesn't stand for Prey Protection Program," he blurted out, as if that explained everything. His fingers clicked through the now awake display, trying to pull up the evidence he wanted to show them.

"That still doesn't-"

"Here," he turned the monitor around to show her. "This is the first result that comes up when you type P.P.P. into Zoogle."

The three other mammals huddled around the screen. A silent awe filled the room.

"Paw Pad Packaging..." Reynard read the top result aloud. "Well I'll be darned."

"Of course...It all makes sense now," Judy muttered, the realization that she had been waiting for finally delivered. Her foot began to thump instinctively. "The Alimandish government...they would provide Fasco with Alimandish attackers...because the scared citizens meant that more people would vote for him!"

"Keep going," Nick smirked.

"And..." she rocked her index finger up and down, "and Mrs Fasco knew about this and thought it was wrong...so...so..." her eyes lit up. "So she tried to alert us in the only way she could, which was to put the information about their base of operations at the sites of the vandalizations!" Judy exclaimed. She turned to the fox, beaming. "Oh my gosh, Nick! That's brilliant!"

"Hidden in plain sight," Nick remarked, a toothy smile having spread across his face as she figured it all out. The two high fived victoriously.

"Wait, what's going on?" Rory asked, confused by Judy's grand explanation.

"We have a location now for where all of this activity is going on," Nick told her. "We can hopefully catch the bad guys now."

Rory nodded. She smiled, having caught the excitement from the rest of the group.

"Nick, pull up the traffic cams around Paw Pad Packaging," Judy ordered, determined to use this new info. "I want to watch everything that's gone in and out of that place over the past couple days."

"Roger that," he replied, opening up the traffic database. He clicked on the street that was listed on Zoogle as the official address of the company. Scrolling through the traffic cams, he found one that showed a view of the entrance of the packaging plant. "Here's our footage."

"Perfect," Judy responded.

Nick put the video from the day prior onto the screen. He rewinded the tape to the beginning of the day, and then began fast forwarding through the day, the mammals looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"Hold on," Reynard interjected, the clock on the camera reading 8:54 AM. "Who's zhat walking into zhe plant?" he pointed to an elephant in a lab coat that was entering the building alongside a rhino.

Nick snapped his fingers. "I know who that is," the fox said. Once he had seen a face, it was rare of him to forget. "That's the elephant we saw at the chemical research facility."

Judy and Reynard looked at him funnily, suggesting that they didn't remember.

"Y'know, the one who pointed us to Clare's office," Nick said.

Still no recognition.

"I'll take your word for it," Judy told him. Knowing who was who was Nick's speciality. He had never been wrong about a mammal's identity to date (aside from the incident with the skunk twins, but Judy didn't count that), and she trusted that what he was saying was correct.

"But, in zhat case... what's someone from zhe research facility doing at the P.P.P. plant?" Reynard questioned.

Nick shrugged. "Let's see."

He pressed play on the tape again. The elephant walked into the building, at which point Nick fast forwarded again. The video time stamp read noon now.

"Stop," Judy told him. He paused the video. "Look right there," she pointed at the screen. The elephant with the lab coat and the rhino he had entered with sat in the front of a generic box truck, a hippo in the driver's seat.

"Follow that truck," Judy told him. Nick did as he was told, scrolling through the footage as the vehicle made its way across town.

"Where are they going?" Rory wondered.

"It looks like..." Judy started, watching as the truck pulled into the Rainforest District, "they're going to the chemical research facility."

As if on cue, the truck pulled into the parking lot of the facility. Oddly, instead of parking close to the building, they parked the truck in the corner, likely an attempt to remain inconspicuous in whatever they were doing. The three mammals stepped out, the elephant with a cell phone held up to his massive ear. They walked closer towards the building before stopping in the middle of the parking lot. The hippo and the rhino suddenly scattered from the elephant, hiding behind the cover of some nearby cars.

"What are they up to?" Judy asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she squinted at the screen.

The clip kept rolling, the four detectives observing the whole scene from above. The air in the office was tense as they watched the elephant keep talking on his phone, the two other large mammals lying in wait. The elephant waved his free hoof above his head, signalling to a cheetah who had just walked out of the building, a phone also up to her ear.

"No..." Reynard sputtered. That was Clare.

She walked towards the elephant, a smile across her face. She hung up the phone, putting it in the pocket of her lab coat. The cheetah walked out towards the center of the parking lot, coming in closer and closer proximity with the elephant. Reynard watched the whole thing through the fingers of his paws, the other three in the room with him watching from the edge of their seats.

The rhino and hippo sprung out from behind the nearby cars, tackling her to the ground.

"Oh...oh my gosh..." Judy put a solemn paw over her mouth. Rory frowned in fear. She felt sick to her stomach.

Clare began to kick and resist, but it was no use. The two mammals were far stronger than her. Putting a gag around her mouth, they lifted her up and carried her back to the truck, her legs still flailing hopelessly. They cuffed her paws together as they opened up the hatch at the back of the truck. The rhino grabbed a rope, and began tying her legs together, holding them still as she tried to squirm. Tying a tight knot, the two of them picked her up and forcefully tossed her into the back of the truck, shutting the hatch.

Reynard was rendered speechless. He shook his head frantically.

"No...no...no no no," he repeated over and over again. She was _kidnapped?_ "We have to do something about zhis! Now!" he shouted.

"Wait," Nick advised. "Let's just watch what happens."

The clip kept playing, the rhino and the hippo leaning up against the back of the truck. The elephant, a grin on his face, walked into the building. Nick looked at the rest of his colleagues. They all seemed shaken. He fast forwarded the clip, slowing it down to normal speed again once the elephant exited a few minutes later.

Nick cocked his head to the side. Something seemed odd about this.

He paused the footage, the three mammals suddenly diverting their attention to him.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked, her tone indicating an annoyance that he had stopped.

"The Zootopia Chemical Research Facility is technically a government building," Nick explained. "We have access to all of their security footage."

Realization swept over her face. "So...we can see exactly what he did inside the building," she asserted, smiling at him. "You're sharp today, Nick."

"You're telling me," he quipped, grinning as he navigated into the database. Reynard and Rory still seemed bothered, their gazes primarily faced towards the floor. Nick clicked on the footage from the day before, zeroing in on the same timestamp that was displayed the footage they had just seen.

"Alright," he said, "let's see what our friend tusky here is up too."

The elephant entered through the glass doors, waving hi to the secretary as he entered. Nick filtered through the cams as he walked through the wings of the facility, eventually coming to the same hallways where Clare's office had been. He calmly walked past colleagues, all of whom seemed to be completely unaware that anything had happened. He came to a metal sliding door at the end of the hallway. He slid a card out of his pocket, tapping it against a sensor on the wall. The door opened, and the elephant walked inside the room. It was easily recognizable as a lab, with a large number of stray beakers of fluid and complicated equipment nearby. The elephant, first checking to see if he was alone, quickly picked up one of the beakers at the bottom of a machine of some sort. Inside the glass container was a few hundred milliliters of a bright green liquid.

"The day whisperer serum..." Judy muttered. They must have figured the formula out.

The elephant pulled a plastic bottle out of his coat and quickly unscrewed the lid. Looking around again in paranoia, he began to pour the liquid into the bottle, ensuring that he got every last drop. He rescrewed the lid, and shoved the bottle back in his coat. He placed the beaker back where he found it, and hurriedly exited the building.

Nick switched back to the traffic cam footage, which was still paused at the moment the elephant left the building. He pressed play again, watching as the elephant went back into the truck and drove off.

The fox leaned back in his chair, letting out an exasperated sigh. "So...that happened."

Judy put her head into her paws. There was so much to take in that she was having a hard time figuring out where to start analyzing.

"What's a day whisperer?" Rory asked curiously. She still felt sick to her stomach, but it was somewhat balanced out by her excitement to work with the officers.

"It's a special type of medicine," Nick explained to her. "It makes you feel really passive and tame. Like you don't want to act at all."

"Why would somebody want that?" she asked.

Nick sighed. "We don't know, kid," he admitted. "That's what we're trying to figure out."

Judy started talking to herself as she began to pace across the room. "Fasco and the Alimandish government are working together..." she muttered to herself, recanting what she knew. "The Alimandish government gives him attackers to help his campaign...they meet at the P.P.P. plant...and there's these day whisperers involved..."

"Wait a minute," Nick interrupted the bunny's thoughts. "Why is the Alimandish government even working with Fasco?"

Judy stopped. "I...I don't know."

"There's no way that this is just a one sided deal," he analyzed. As a former con man, he had seen all types of shady deals. But the one thing that they all had in common was that there was some perceived benefit for both parties. "So what could the Alimandish government possibly stand to gain from working with Fasco?"

Reynard's eyes suddenly widened. His expression shrunk into dread as the blood drained from his face. His breaths became rapid and shallow. He shook his head in denial.

"Dear God, please no."

The three mammals turned their focus to the raccoon. Reynard started to teeter, feeling faint under the weight of his light head. He desperately steadied himself on the desk as Nick jumped up from his seat to catch him.

"Reynard...what is it?" Judy asked concernedly.

The raccoon kept breathing deeply, his eyes fixed on the woodwork of the desk.

"Zhey're going to do it..." he muttered, swallowing.

The three other mammals exchanged glances with one another. What was he talking about?

"Zhe Alimandish government..." he inhaled and exhaled rapidly, "...zhey're going to use zhe day whisperers to surpress zhe uprising."

* * *

 **Whew! Not quite sure what to say after this chapter, aside from "hang on for the ride!" This chapter in particular is about 3k words longer than the next longest in the series, which is why it took me longer than usual to finish. Please, as always, leave a review telling me what you think of the story. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

-Chapter 16-

The room was entirely silent apart from shallow breaths and a few muttered curses from Nick. Nobody knew what to say.

"What exactly do you mean, that they're 'suppressing the uprising?'" Judy finally spoke up.

"In Alimand..." Reynard breathed, "predators and prey drink from different water supplies."

"So..." Judy realized, "they put the day whisperer liquid in the predator water and..."

Reynard shuddered. He had been trying to quarantine that thought, but Judy had just unleashed it. Faces flashed before him of predators he once knew, their blank eyes entirely glazed over by the serum, their lips tugged downward into a stoic expression. It was like a slideshow of a horror movie, the limp predators all still breathing but entirely sedated, acting as if they were zombies.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Rory suddenly piped up, snapping him out of it. "We have to do _something!_ "

"Rory's right," Judy agreed, determination in her voice. "We need to come up with a plan of action. Now."

"But what if we're already too late? How will we know?" Reynard asked.

"I think I have a way we can confirm," Nick raised an index finger as he took to the computer. He quickly to a live feed of the P.P.P. security cam, rewinding at double speed from there, when something caught his eye.

"Look at this," Nick showed them, "that's Fasco, and that's the ambassador. They walked into the plant about...an hour ago. And they haven't left yet."

"Okay...but what about zhe serum? How do we know it's zhere?"

"Well...we don't," Nick painfully admitted. Although he didn't want to say it aloud, he had a strong suspicion that the serum was already on its way to Alimand, and that they had cracked the case too late. Still, he chose to instill optimism. "But this is the best shot we have. At least this way we have a chance of stopping them."

Judy let out a massive sigh as she massaged her temples. She had a plan.

"Radio Bogo, tell him to send as much backup as he can to this location," she ordered. "Nick, we'll take Delgato and Fangmire with us." Nick gave her a thumbs up, still scrolling through the footage. Not finding anything else, he shut off the computer and started heading for the door. "And you two," she turned to Rory and Reynard. "You're going to stay in the cruiser."

The raccoon and doe looked at each other. "What?" they said in unison.

"You aren't officers. It's too dangerous for you to go in," she explained, pushing down on the office door handle as she and Nick stepped out of the room.

"I want to go!" Rory protested.

"Judy, we want to help," Reynard seconded.

The bunny sighed. "We can talk about it in the cruiser," she said as they walked down the hallway. "Right now, though, I need Rory to give me as detailed of a description as she can of the inside of that packaging plant. Maybe get some pen and paper, draw out a floor plan if you can."

"I don't remember it _that_ well," the deer replied, folding her arms.

"Just do your best, okay? We need all the info we can get," Judy told her.

"Speaking of info...do we have any idea where they're even keeping the day whisperer serum?" Nick asked. "Like Reynard was saying, it doesn't matter if we arrest them if they manage to smuggle that out."

Judy tapped her chin with her pen. That was a good point. "Rory, would you happen to know that?"

She shook her head.

"Well, I guess we're going in blind then," she remarked, placing the pen back into her pocket. "Nick, get an extra two tranquilizer guns for these two, just in case. And the four officers are going to need some sturdy vests," she told him.

"Aye aye, Captain Hopps," he saluted jokingly.

"I'm going to go and get Delgato and Fangmire. As soon as I get back, we're leaving. Are we clear?"

"Wait," Reynard interjected, "shouldn't we tell zhe mammals in Alimand what's going on?"

"Do you have any idea how much violence that would cause?" she retorted. "There would be riots everywhere. Alimand would collapse."

"Really?" Reynard fired back. "You'd razher have hundreds of zhousands of mammals become slaves?"

Judy looked to Nick for support, but the fox just shook his head. "Sorry, Fluff, but you're in the wrong here," he said. "This is one of those times when morality overrules protocol."

"Fine," Judy conceded, scowling. She didn't like going against the rules, even when there was a perfectly good reason to. "You talk to Clawhauser and explain the situation to him. He'll get in contact with the news networks. Don't give them details of who's involved. Just spread the message telling them not to drink the water. Now," she concluded, "are we all clear on the assignments?"

"Yes," they all replied.

"Good," she clapped her paws together, "Let's light this pop stand."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a popsicle hustler joke?"

Judy smiled, causing the rest of the group to grin reactively. "Just go and get the stuff, you big goof," she told him.

The four mammals all split up, each ready and determined to bury the case once and for all.

* * *

"Are you two familiar with the plan now?" Judy asked the tiger and wolf officers via the radio in the cruiser.

"Yes, wilco," Fangmire's voice came back through the radio.

The two cruisers sped through the streets, their lights and sirens on as they navigated turn after turn. Using the lights to force traffic out of the way was rare, but they simply couldn't afford to lose any time. Every second that they lost could be the difference between stopping Fasco and locking him away.

"Okay," Judy sighed, as she maneuvered the police car. "How long did Bogo say the backup would take to arrive again?"

"We're on our own for the next twenty minutes," Nick replied. "He had to divert a lot of security attention from a skunk pride parade on the opposite side of town."

 _Cheese and crackers_ , Judy thought. _Twenty minutes is such a long time_. This infiltration was shaping up to be more and more precarious.

"Well, we have t-minus two minutes until we arrive at the packaging plant," she explained to the fox, raccoon and doe. She then briefly glanced at Nick before turning her attention back to the road. "Have you memorized Rory's map yet?"

"Yep," Nick replied, adding, "I've got a mind like an elephant, remember?"

Judy smirked, catching the obscure reference to their first case.

"Hey, bucktooth," Rory interjected from the back seat. "You forgot about us."

Judy rolled her eyes. "You both know that it's too dangerous to go in."

"Does it seem like we care?" Reynard rebutted.

"What if something happened to you? How am I supposed to justify that to my higher ups?" Judy asked. "It's protocol for a reason."

Reynard sighed. "Judy, zhis is somezhing I would be willing to die for," he told her solemnly. "And if you zhink for a second zhat you or your higher ups are going to be able to stop me, you're wrong."

"For some reason, I can't help but think I've heard this from someone else before," Nick teased, his glance falling on the rabbit as his grin grew larger. "If only I knew _someone_ else who was so committed to a certain cause."

"Don't bring me into this," Judy snapped. "I'm not going against protocol."

"And you don't have to," Nick responded. Rory and Reynard raised an eyebrow at each other.

"Wha...what do you mean?" the bunny asked.

"If they were to, oh, I don't know," Nick made a rolling gesture with his paw, "perhaps slip out of the cruiser after we went inside the plant, and you and I were to have _absolutely_ _no_ knowledge of it..."

She saw what he was suggesting. She sighed. Judy knew that Reynard and Rory were both willing to put themselves on the line to see Fasco brought to justice. They put this cause above themselves, just like she did. And if they did as Nick was implying...then technically they wouldn't be responsible for whatever happened to them. Still, it wasn't as if she could deny the moral responsibility she took over the two mammals. A loophole was only enough to remove the protector status she held over her them from the legal perspective. On the other paw, however, there was the fact that they both had already been huge assets to the case, providing in some form or another the majority of their leads. It seemed unfair to deny them the opportunity to finish what they had started.

 _Maybe..._ Judy thought, _a little trust is in order._

"I...I guess if they were to go against our orders," she conceded, "there would be nothing we could do about it."

Reynard and Rory smiled, looking at each other excitedly.

"If they did sneak out, however," Judy continued, looking back at them in her rearview mirror. "I would hope that they would be very careful."

Reynard nodded. He would be as careful as he could afford to be.

"We've arrived," Nick remarked. The lights atop the car were flicked off as the rabbit pulled the cruiser into a nearby ally, Delgato and Fangmire's cruiser right behind them. "Here, take these," Nick threw back two tranquilizer guns to the raccoon and doe, Rory's face lighting up as the two mammals began to more closely inspect them. "Those are in case someone 'attacks the cruiser,'" he explained. "Make sure you don't shoot each other with it. And guys," they both looked up from the guns to the fox, "be safe, okay? We'll see you soon."

They nodded as the fox stepped out of the car, following his partner.

"Good luck!" Rory yelled as the bunny and fox joined up with the tiger and wolf in the street. Nick and Judy waved back, before following Fangmire and Delgato and sneaking into an alleyway on the opposite side of the street.

Relative silence fell over the car, the dull activities of the street the only significant noise. Rory began pointing the gun around, closing one eye as she scoped in on various targets in the cruiser, causing Reynard to smile. She hoped that she would get an actual chance to use it, if for no other reason than to quell her urge to shoot something.

Reynard really did like Rory. Even in this tense moment, she was calmly playing with her new toy. He hoped that she ended up in a better scenario after this whole thing was over, as he suspected that she was capable of being far more than just another street roamer.

"Reynard..." she said spontaneously and nonchalantly, still inspecting the gun, "what does _pazhtao_ mean?"

The raccoon winced at the word, the mere mention being potent to his ears. He hadn't at all expected a question like that.

"It...uh..." he struggled as he tried to find a way to put it in terms an eight year old with no prior knowledge of Alimand would understand. "It's a...very bad word...zhat...uh... mammals will sometimes call predators."

She put the gun down, cocking her head to the side. "But what does it mean?" she asked again.

Reynard sighed. This was going to be difficult. "A long time ago, zhere was zhis group of mammals who were very mean to predators," he told her. "Zhey made zhem all wear muzzles and treated them very poorly. And a lot of zhese mammals..." he swallowed, "were bunnies."

"Like Judy?"

"No-well, yes-but..." he let out an exasperated sigh. "Just...some of zhem were bunnies, okay?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

"So..." he continued, "zhe predators didn't like zhese bunnies because zhey were mean to zhem. And so zhe word for bunny started becoming a bad word, because zhey didn't like how zhey were being treated by zhem."

"So _pazhtao_ means bunny?" she pressed.

"Not really anymore," Reynard told her, "now we have a new word for bunny. But if you call a predator zhat...it still means zhat zhey're on the side of zhe oppressors, which zhe worst zhing you can say to zhem."

Slowly, Rory's head began to bob up and down. She still didn't fully understand what Reynard was getting at, but she had enough of an idea to get the general message.

"And remember," the raccoon clarified, "zhat zhese were just a few bunnies who were mean. Not all of zhem are like zhat."

"Yeah, I know," she responded, looking up at him.

Reynard smiled as he rubbed the fur on her head, looking down at her affectionately. He hoped that she understood his explanation in the way he meant it. With topics like this, explanation was everything. One minor semantic error or misplaced word could mean the birth of a prejudice or misconception. The opposite was also true. A proper commentary on the question would help to shed truth on an issue that was incredibly important.

"You ready?" he asked her. She nodded.

"Alright zhen," Reynard replied, opening up the car door. "Let's do zhis."

* * *

The packaging plant was now in sight of the four officers. According to Nick's security cam footage, there was a bay door that they kept open during the day for loading shipments and things at the back of the building. They would have to sneak in through there if they wanted to get inside.

Keeping a low profile, the four officers crossed the street, ducking into an alley next to the plant. If one of the guards spotted them or alerted the others...then their job got significantly harder. Fangmire poked his head out, scanning for any potentially hostile mammals. The area was large and open to allow for large shipping trucks to maneuver, which meant that there was practically no cover if they were spotted half way. Not seeing any threat, he signalled them forward.

The four mammals sprinted across the sandy asphalt in the back lot to the open bay door into a room full of racks of crates that stacked up to the ceiling.

"Hey!" a voice yelled from across the room. The four officers all suddenly flinched, eyes flicking towards the voice, which was identified as a male gazelle in dark jeans and a blue collar shirt. "Wait a minute, what are you doing he-"

The gazelle was cut off mid sentence, a dart piercing his hind. He stared down at the tranquilizer in his leg before groggily dropping to the floor.

Nick pretended to blow the smoke off of his dart gun, smirking as he reloaded it.

"Nice shot," Judy whispered. She ran over to the now incapacitated gazelle, searching through his pockets as the other four stood around her in a defensive position.

"What are you doing?" Fangmire asked.

"Looking for a key card or key chain," she explained. "I doubt all the doors open freely. Aha!" she exclaimed softly, pulling out a thin card with the gazelles portrait on it from the pocket on his shirt. "Quick, let's go. Before company shows up."

They opened the only door they could find, which took them out of the warehouse area of the plant and into a more narrow hallway with white walls and gray square floor tile. They slowly proceeded down the hallway warily. The hallway forked in two different directions. According to Rory's map, one led to the staircase that led to the second floor where the offices were. The other hallway led to more offices, as well as the public entrance of the building and to another wing she'd never been to past that.

"We should split up," Delgato suggested quietly. "Easier to hide and more coverage."

"We'll go to the right," Nick claimed. The tiger and wolf nodded. They quickly went their separate ways, Nick and Judy scurrying through the bright hallways. The offices were all labeled clearly on the door. They had agreed to check Fasco's office first when planning, which was slightly farther down the hallway.

A door suddenly swung open, a rhino and hippo emerging, blocking from view the voices that were coming from behind them. Nick and Judy retreated around the corner, hugging the wall closely as they listened.

"Aktol yi zo popo ij," the voice said. Judy's eyes widened. She had heard that voice on television before. "Jez zipota pola leest."

"Hag dio drishdipo," a deeper voice responded.

The voices stopped, the footsteps coming closer to rounding the corner of the hallway. Nick and Judy, in a panic, turned the other way, and began running back towards the juncture where they had split up.

"Hey!" a voice yelled.

Nick and Judy suddenly stopped. A giraffe and buffalo, both in a security uniform, were blocking their path.

"Sweet snickerdoodles," Judy cursed, continuing to run. She pulled out her tranquilizer, shooting the giraffe in the chest. To her surprise he just smiled, revealing to her his heavy chest padding that the dart had gotten stuck in.

"Where do you think you're going?" the giraffe asked, grinning. The rhino and hippo who were protecting the voice were now chasing the fox and rabbit, who were unable to proceed. Both ends of the hallway occupied by security guards. They were totally trapped.

"Well, well, well," he said from behind the rhino, slowly walking into view. "Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde," he laughed. "How nice of you to visit!"

The four guards slowly advanced closer to the rabbit and fox. The officers swallowed nervously.

"Oh, would you look at that, you caught us planning your surprise party!" Nick remarked jokingly, the guards towering over them menacingly.

"Funny, sly fox," Fasco remarked. "But I don't take well to unannounced visitors."

Nick shrugged. "It would have ruined the surprise."

"Take them...to the room," Fasco ordered. The four guards grabbed the two officers, placing them in handcuffs.

"Oh, now this is just ironic," Nick rolled his eyes. "Handcuffing the police. Haha. Good one."

"We'll see how much longer you'll be cracking jokes, Mr. Wilde," Fasco said deviously, "when you see what I have in store for you," He snapped his fingers. "Zelemon! Kalao!"

Two of the guards turned around. Those must have been their names.

"Zekelsht dalay todoron. Dzie politao ze trolivi," he ordered. The guards nodded, heading off in the other direction. Fasco turned to the jaguar that he had been speaking to earlier. Nick and Judy instantly recognized him as the ambassador.

"Holi manao wez zabadus zha raleton. Je balom," he explained. The ambassador nodded, turning around and heading back in the direction they had just come from. Fasco turned to his newly acquired captives, who were being gripped tightly by the giraffe and buffalo. A smirk came across his face, eyebrows assuming an almost evil position. "This will be fun."

* * *

Reynard let out a sigh. He had talked with Rory, and they had finally agreed with on they were going to do. "You know zhe plan?"

"Uh huh," she replied.

"Okay," Reynard inhaled again, adrenaline rushing through his system. This was either going to go extremely well, or extremely poorly.

They crossed the street together, Reynard guiding Rory by placing his paws on her shoulders. They walked onto the opposite sidewalk, a large fence surrounding the front portion of the plant, with two guards at the only point of entry. Reynard took Rory's arms behind her back and pushed her forward, walking towards the two guards. They looked down quizzically at the raccoon and doe.

"Hello," he said in Alimandish. "I'm taking this deer to the boss. She's due for an appointment."

The two guards looked at each other. They did recognize the doe, but the raccoon was new. Reynard kept gazing up at them confidently.

They opened the fence, Reynard still pretending to escort Rory to see Fasco as they approached the building. He pushed her through the automatic doors, trying to be as gently forceful as he could.

The main lobby of the building was nothing spectacular. There were a couple of couches, presumably for waiting customers, as well as a couple of magazines on a coffee table. Glancing around confidently, Reynard walked up to the front desk.

"This deer needs to see the boss," he boldly stated to the secretary in Alimandish, wanting to make it clear that he meant business.

The sheep raised an eye at him. "Does she have an appointment?"

Reynard sighed. "Maybe you didn't hear me properly," he replied. "This is Rory Nelson, Fasco's personal agent. She needs to talk to him."

"I'm sorry sir-"

"I'm sure Frederick Fasco wouldn't like to know that you gave _her_ trouble, now would he?" Reynard pressed.

The secretary swallowed. She began tapping her hoof on the desk as she fixed her shirt collar nervously. "Down the hallway to your left. He'll be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Reynard replied, internally breathing a sigh of relief.

He and Rory began down the hallway, Reynard still holding her, trying to determine anywhere the serum could be.

Suddenly, the two mammals heard voices. They exchanged an alarmed glance. Having nowhere else to go, Reynard pulled the doe into the bathroom, seeking cover.

"Yes, the helicopter will arrive shortly," a koala said, Reynard watching with the door cracked slightly open, contempt overtaking him. "We'll extract soon."

"Excellent. Thank you, Fasco," a jaguar, presumed to be the ambassador, replied.

"What are they saying?" Rory whispered to the raccoon, his furry finger shushing her.

The mammals in the hallway all whirled their heads to the right, something catching their attention. Shouts came from around the corner, mixed with heavy footsteps as the rhino and hippo who had been guarding Fasco and the ambassador began to run down the hallway. Reynard and Rory strained their ears to listen.

"Well, well, well," he heard Fasco say. "Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. How nice of you to visit!"

Reynard and Rory stared at each other in disbelief.

"We have to help them!" Rory exclaimed. Reynard shushed her again.

"Wait," he told her, putting his ear out the door to hear.

"You two...chamber...howler...ambassador...office...the mixture..." Fasco said in Alimandish, only a few of the words loud enough to reach Reynard.

"Nick and Judy are in trouble!" Rory insisted, tugging his arm. "What are we going to do?"

"Shh. Someone's coming," he warned. Reynard narrowed the crack in the door, only leaving it wide enough for one of his eyes to see through. The guards and Fasco seemed to have continued moving down the hallway after Nick and Judy, but the ambassador walked in the opposite direction. He had a small plastic vial in his hands, and he appeared to be heading back towards the main entrance. He walked slowly across the tile. Rory and Reynard watched. Their hearts thumped as the jaguar opened approached the bathroom door. The two mammals threw themselves out of the way, going back further into the bathroom.

The jaguar's eyes widened as the door opened, his sight falling on the doe and raccoon.

"AH!" Rory yelled. Instinctively she pulled the trigger on her tranquilizer, shooting the jaguar in the stomach.

The ambassador slowly toppled over, falling flat on his face.

"Sorry," Rory exclaimed in a whisper, looking up at the raccoon. "Panicked."

"No, no, zhat was good," Reynard sighed in relief. He picked up the vial from the jaguar's limp body, inspecting it closely. "I...I zhink zhis is zhe serum."

Rory's eyes widened. "Really?" she said, "Well, don't just stand there, get rid of it!"

The raccoon looked down at the vial again. This was almost too easy. All they had to do now was dump out the serum and...

"No," Reynard interjected. He couldn't just dispose of it. "Nick and Judy are in trouble. And zhis," he held up the vial dramatically, "zhis is the only bargaining power we have."

"Are you crazy? Get rid of it!" she blurted out quietly.

"Look, zhis could be the only way we get to see Nick and Judy again," he explained. "I don't want to just throw zhat away."

Rory's expression softened. She knew Reynard was right. Still, at the very least, there had to be _something_ else they could do to neutralize the threat. She began to look around the bathroom, desperately looking for anything that they could use...

"Wait," Rory started to shake Reynard's arm, a smirk coming across her face. "I've got an idea."

Reynard cocked his head. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you in a second, but first, what do we do about _him_?" Rory asked, gesturing towards the ambassador.

Reynard stroked his chin for a moment. "Ah," he said, holding up his index finger, "move him into a bathroom stall."

Rory nodded. The two of them picked up the jaguar, carrying him deeper into the bathroom. They threw one of the stall doors open, and tossed the unconscious mammal inside. Reynard locked the stall door and crawled underneath back into the bathroom. He began to smile as he rubbed his paws together. "So, you have a plan?"

* * *

Nick and Judy were led down the hallway, escorted by Fasco's guards. Needless to say, this had not been part of the plan. At least Fangmire and Delgato were still out there somewhere. They rounded the corner, coming to another series of doors. Seemingly at random, they stopped, the guards opening the door and tossing the two cops inside.

The room was completely bare, composed of four white cinderblock walls and a cement floor. One of the walls had a door, which was for the moment closed. There was a single fluorescent light on the ceiling, and a security camera in the upper corner of the room.

"How nice of you to prepare a room just for us," Nick commented. "I'm honored, really."

"Shut your mouth, fox," Fasco spat. He slowly turned towards Nick, his voice dropping to a whisper. "We wouldn't want to have to muzzle you, would we?"

Nick swallowed, trying to maintain his composure. The words ran like ice through his spine, causing it to become upright. The koala smirked evilly at his two captives, beginning to shake his head.

"I've waited so long for this moment," he said, his grin growing. "You did well, in figuring out the connections behind it all. I must say, I'm quite impressed. But sadly, the cops don't always win. Isn't that right, Mr. Wilde?"

Nick remained nonreactive.

"Mmm...so it takes the threat of his past to finally silence our witty friend," Fasco remarked. "That's right, I know everything about both of you. You'd be surprised how many sets of ears I have. Now...let's not waste any more time with silly chatter. It's time," Fasco paused, "for the real games to begin. Bring out the others."

Nick and Judy exchanged glances. There were _others_?

The door on the opposite side of the room opened. A hippo and a yak escorted two gagged, handcuffed, hysterically sobbing mammals - one koala and one cheetah - shoving them into the room. The two officers' eyes widened.

"Say hello to Clare and Gilda, officers," Fasco taunted. "These two...these two almost endangered my plans. Now...now you are all going to pay for it," his grin faded into a despicable stare. "Give me the package."

One of the guards approached Fasco, giving him a small briefcase. He opened the latches. Nick and Judy's heart rates began to rise. Inside the briefcase was a small pistol and two circular, indigo pellets. Calmly, the koala loaded the spheres into the gun, taking everything out of the case.

"You're not going to..." Judy trailed off.

"Yes. I am," Fasco replied coldly. He slowly walked across the room, each one of his footsteps echoing through the walls. Fasco approached the koala first, pointing the gun at her. Slowly, he began to shake his head.

"Gilda, Gilda, Gilda," his face contorted into rage, "my sweet, charming, treacherous wife. You...you betrayed me!"

"Frederic...you...you wouldn't do this to your wife," she moaned, face damp with tears.

He stared into her eyes. "Try me."

The koala completely broke down, wailing loudly.

"I'm ashamed I ever loved you," Fasco muttered. He pulled the trigger, firing the ammunition straight into the koala's gut. She began to convulse on the ground, slowly beginning to lose control of herself.

"And you..." he approached Clare, "You should have known this was coming."

Clare screamed through the gag, desperately begging not to suffer the same fate as the koala beside her.

Fasco stared right into her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

"I'll leave you all to...catch up," Fasco remarked, the grin returning to his face. "Enjoy your last moments on earth, officers."

The doors slammed shut, the guards and Fasco having left. It was only the four mammals now.

"He...he made them go savage..." Judy muttered in disbelief. She shook her head, taking a deep breath. They would have to fight. She considered her options. The both of them were still handcuffed, which made things considerably more difficult. The two mammals in front of them were now almost completely animal. Slowly, the koala began to bare its teeth. Clare assumed a position on all fours, growling loudly.

It was showtime.

* * *

 **Hello everyone! It's me, the author, back after a couple of months hiatus. Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues that came up that really killed my motivation to write. But I'm back now, hopefully will be able to finish this story before the end of the month. As always, please leave feedback below via submitting a review! Always looking to improve my writing, so any help is greatly appreciated.**


	17. Chapter 17

-Chapter 17-

The raccoon let out a sigh, hoping that somehow the exhalation of air would relieve the weight he felt. He stared down at the vial which he had in his paws, clasping it tightly. This was it. They had one chance to make this right. He looked at Rory. She gave him a silent, yet confident, nod.

Reynard sprinted out of the bathroom, running down the hallway that Nick and Judy had been led down. His eyes widened as he turned the corner. Walking back down the hallway were four guards surrounding Fasco. They noticed him instantly, the raccoon bolting to run the other way.

"Get him!" Fasco ordered.

Reynard began to order his legs to move faster, sprinting as quickly as he could down the hallway in the direction he had come from. The four guards and Fasco were running after him in hot pursuit, eager to catch the masked intruder.

Taking a right, Reynard ran down the next hallway, looking back to make sure all the guards were still chasing him.

 _Please,_ he thought _let it be enough time._

* * *

Rory watched as the koala and his guards flew by the bathroom, madly chasing after Reynard. She exhaled, nervous about the whole scenario. Her plan needed to work. It had to.

She silently slid out of the bathroom, creeping down the now empty hallway. She hoped Reynard could distract them for long enough to finish what she had to do. Cautiously, she crept around the corner, heart racing, a single thought running laps in her head.

She needed to find Nick and Judy.

* * *

Nick and Judy looked around the room, trying to find anything they could possibly use to their advantage. The doors were off limits, seeing as they were handcuffed and had only a few seconds to react. Together, the two officers slowly backed into the corner, the now savage animals slowly encroaching on them.

"Any ideas, Carrots?" Nick asked desperately, his usually collected expression for once actually displaying his terror. "I don't like the idea of becoming prey."

"Hold on," Judy replied, her eyes intensely focused on Clare's harsh, animal glare. They were locked in an intense stare, the cheetah licking her lips at the sight of her next meal. The rabbit noticed the slightest twitch of Clare's hind legs, and leaped straight up into the air, barely dodging as the big cat lunged. She landed on the creature's head, vaulting herself into the air again. her large rabbit legs contracting and uncoiling like springs, she delivered a kick to the koala, sending it flying across the room, effectively disabling it, as she landed once again.

Nick blinked in awe.

"Being prey isn't so bad," she proclaimed, smirking at him. She quickly regained her balance, ready to continue fighting. Clare turned around, noticeably more angry. She let out a nasty snarl, primal eyes locked on her target. Clare pounced, leaping through the air with her fangs bared as she approached Judy. Judy quickly hopped to the side, but the cheetah had just as quick of reflexes, her large paws grabbing the rabbits leg as she did so. Judy let out a whelp of horror. She frantically began trying to break free of the cheetah's grip. Nick screamed, running over in her direction. The cheetah pulled the rabbit's squirming leg closer to it's maw. It was time for the weak bunny to die.

"NO!" a piercing cry shattered the air. Nick stopped caring about thinking, letting his instincts entirely take over. It didn't matter what happened now, there was no way he could let her die. He lashed out, hurling himself onto the cheetah. He sunk his fox fangs into the cheetah's side, tearing through her clothing until he could taste blood. He shook his mouth trying to cause as much pain to the feline as he could.

Letting out a cry of pain, Clare whirled around, her claw scraping across the right half of Nick's face. She threw the fox off of her back, causing him to yip as his body made a thud against the wall. Clare turned her attention to the helpless fox, who was lying in pain on the ground, a low rumble coming from her throat. She was bloodied and furious, her savage instincts completely in control. There would be no way he escaped. She would tear him apart, putting him in his place once and for all.

Nick's eyelids fluttered open as he groaned in pain to see a spotted figure slowly approaching him. As his vision cleared, he came to fully realize the predicament he was in. Step after step, the cheetah came closer. He stared up at the cheetah which was looming over him, looking into its ruthless eyes. He went through all of his options. Judy was too far away. Scrambling away was out of the question. Fighting back was impossible. Slowly, he began to realize. He had no options. This was it.

He was going to die.

Everything seemed to slow down. His eyelids began to drop, sealing his mind off from the rest of the world. He inhaled deeply, preparing himself. His thoughts became muddled, and then suddenly everything was clear and in focus, a series of images and memories flashing before his eyes.

 _"Mom, why don't I have a daddy like the other mammals?" the young fox said innocently, looking up at the vixen's tired and overworked eyes._

 _She smiled, letting out a small sigh. "Because, honey," she said, "I've already got you, and that's the only thing I need."_

 _The child smiled at his mother, nuzzling her as he extended his arms around her legs. "I love you mommy."_

The scenes flashed through everything he had ever done. He watched himself attend the ranger scout meeting again,running out crying as he tore the muzzle from his face. It flashed again, showing a fox sitting outside of an office in a chair. The door to the office opened, a rhino escorting a vixen out. The fox who had been sitting now arose, walking alongside the older vixen.

 _"Nick, honey..." the vixen said. "How many times do we have to have this conversation?"_

 _"What I did wasn't wrong," he retorted._

 _"It was dishonest, which makes it wrong."_

 _"Dishonest is a word mammals use to keep the resourceful down," he replied, entirely nonchalant._

 _The vixen shook her head, her fists clenched. She stopped walking and turned to her son."Why do you do this to me, Nick? I just want you to be a good mammal. Why is that so much to ask?"_

Because, _Nick thought to himself, his stoic expression unfaltering,_ being good means being vulnerable, which only ever means hurt.

Things whirled around again. Images kept flashing. He recognized the setting. He was in the passenger seat of the van with Finnic, seething with rage.

 _"How could she say that?" Nick yelled. "Gah!" he pounded his fist on the dashboard._

 _"Woah woah woah," the fennec fox interjected. "I know you're mad, but don't take it out on my ride."_

 _Nick's face shifted into something grotesque as he stared out the window. "Stupid, ignorant bunny..." he muttered. "'Something in their DNA,' what a load of steaming hot garbage," he spat the words out hatefully. "And in front of all the press, no less."_

 _"Hey, just forget about it, man," Finnic told him, "we're gonna go back to making cash and everything will be fine."_

 _Nick kept staring out of the window._ Being good means being vulnerable, _he thought as the buildings passed them by,_ which only ever means hurt.

The slideshow continued. He saw himself hugging the rabbit under the bridge, and her leading him through the museum to arrest Bellwether. It then flashed into a train station.

 _"Well, I guess this is it, huh," the small bunny said, looking up at him. She tried to maintain a smile, but her ears gave away her true feelings. Droopy and gloomy._

 _"Aw, don't be sad, Carrots," the fox said cheerfully, picking up her ears and restoring them to their upright position. "It's just a few months, and then we'll be working together after that."_

 _"I know...it's just...I'm going to miss you, is all," she tried to explain._

 _"Well, I can't say I blame you, me being as fiendishly attracti-"_

 _"No, Nick, listen, I'm serious," she interrupted. "I love you, okay?"_

 _Nick sighed softly, and smiled. "Love you too, fluff. Please...take care of yourself."_

 _Judy snorted. "You're worried about me taking care of myself? What about you, how are you planning on making it through the police academy?"_

 _"Well if a dumb bunny such as yourself can do it I'm sure I'll be just fine," he replied, smirking._

 _She laughed and shook her head. "Oh, get out of here already, you sly fox."_

 _"Fine, fine," he conceded, still smirking as he turned and began to walk with his suitcase into the crowd. "So long, Officer Hopps."_

 _"Wait, you're forgetting something," she exclaimed, running over to him._

 _"What are you talking abou- oof," he was cut off, the air sucked out of him by the bunny throwing her arms around his chest. He smiled. "Oh right, that."_

Good is not bad, _he thought to himself as he hugged her._ Not bad at all.

The images kept scrolling, but now it was all recent enough that it was no longer a surprise to him, the last image flashing where he had been not five minutes prior.

He looked back into the cheetah's eyes, feeling a sense of inner peace.

 _I was good,_ the thoughts flooded him with zen. _They_ _were happy because of me._

The cheetah was now overshadowing his body. Nick had accepted his fate. He was ready to die, even if he didn't want to. He continued to look into Clare's eyes, wondering if she'd remember what she did to him. Clare bared her fangs, and Nick closed his eyes in bracing himself.

He heard Judy scream. The door flew open, making a loud noise. A small object whistled through the air. The cheetah yelped. Nick opened his eyes, gaping as the cat's eyes rolled into the back of its head. It seemed to defy gravity as slowly its head rolled onto his chest.

He swallowed heavily, his heart racing. A tranquilizer dart.

He was alive.

Nick didn't even notice Judy coming over to tend to him. All he could do was look ahead and breathe.

"Oh my gosh, Nick," she begged, a tear rolling down her cheek. "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay," she repeated over and over, stuffing her face in his chest.

Nick looked down at his paws, wiggling each of his fingers and admiring the sensation. His ears and nose twitched, followed by his legs and toes, as if he needed to make sure all of the parts of his body still were alive. He looked down at the bunny which was crying into his chest, paws still handcuffed behind her back.

Suddenly, he became incredibly aware of the pain in his chest and the claw marks on his face.

"Ow ow ow," he exclaimed, causing Judy to quickly recoil from his chest. "I think I broke things."

The rabbit let out a sigh, having a hard time processing what had just happened.

"Oh Nick," Judy cried, "don't EVER do that to me again."

Nick smirked. "Me? You were almost as close as I was, fluff."

She smiled and let out a relieved sob. "Thank cheese and crackers Rory showed up."

"I got lucky," Rory said.

"No," Nick interjected. "I think we all did," he paused. "I guess I owe my life to you, kid."

There was a moment of silence. Rory swallowed. A few days ago she had been living on the streets pick pocketing people. Now she had just saved Nick Wilde's life.

"I...I..." she tried to find something to say, but couldn't. "You're welcome."

He smiled, staring gratefully at her with the eye that wasn't bloodied. "How did you get in here anyways? Aren't the doors locked?"

Rory held up the key card between her two fingers. "We found the ambassador in the bathroom."

"The ambassador?"

"Yep. Got the serum too."

Nick and Judy gaped at each other.

"You mean..."

"Yes, we have a plan. But right now we need to save Reynard, he's the one who was distracting them so I could come save you guys."

"Okay, okay, let me think," Judy said, beginning to calculate what the best course of action would be. "First things first, I need to get us out of these handcuffs," she explained. "Rory, reach into my front pocket and grab the handcuff key for me."

"Aren't these Fasco's handcuffs?" Rory asked, confusedly as she pulled the handcuff key out.

"Doesn't matter, they all use the same keys," Judy clarified.

"Ah," Rory said, understanding. She fiddled the key inside the lock mechanism, popping the handcuffs off and giving the key to Judy.

"Thanks," Judy said, moving towards Nick to remove his handcuffs. "Now, you need to find Delgato and Fangmire, and get them to help you find Reynard. Bogo and the rest will be here in under seven minutes. We just have to delay until then."

"Wait, you're not coming?" Rory's ear's suddenly dropped.

"Sweetie, Nick's likely got a few fractured ribs,"

"Wha? I do?" Nick interrupted.

"Shush!" Judy ordered, rolling her eyes. "The koala's probably got some head injuries, and Clare is suffering some major blood loss. I'm not going anywhere."

Rory felt a pit form in her stomach. She had come here to get help from Nick and Judy. That was part of the plan. Now...she didn't know if she could do this alone.

Judy noticed her expression, and put a paw on her shoulder. "Listen...no matter what happens, you've already done something great here today. I know that you'll do the right thing, even if things don't work out in the end," she told the deer truthfully. The bunny reached for her belt, unclipping the orange, carrot shaped pen and handing it to Rory. "Take this. It can record audio. Useful for evidence."

"Officer, I-"

"You've got this. Now go save Reynard."

Rory looked at Judy, her eyes conveying a mixture of pride, confidence and worry. She nodded, took the pen, and ran out back into the hallway.

* * *

Reynard kept running down the hallway, having lost a small amount of ground in the few seconds they'd been chasing him. He turned the corner once again, continuing to sprint as quickly as his burning legs would carry him.

 _Crap,_ he thought, noticing the end of the hallway. _Stairs._

He darted up flight after flight on all fours, trying to continue to evade capture. He was actually gaining ground, the larger sized animals struggling moreso with the stairs than he was.

Having reached the top of the staircase, he flung open the door and walked in through the frame, expecting there to be more hallways. Instead, he'd found the roof. Having no other option, he ran out, running towards the edge of the roof with the serum. The guards and Fasco emerged from the door not seconds later.

"Come any closer and I drop zhe serum," Reynard threatened, holding the vial over the edge of the building. The guards all stopped in their tracks.

"That's not the serum, coon," Fasco said with hostility. "The ambassador has it."

"Really? And where iz zhe ambassador, eh?" he retorted. Fasco's eyes widened. "Zhat's right. I stole it from him."

Fasco's nose twitched with anger as he clenched his fists. "You fool! Give me the serum now!"

"Never! You will never do what you intend to zhe mammals of Alimand!"

"I'm fixing Alimand! It will be greater than any city the world has ever known! Predators are nothing more than overly aggressive beasts. The are best used as pawns, mere instruments for those who have greater mental capabilities!"

Reynard shook his head. "You disgust me. How can you say somezhing like zhat? We are just as animal as you are!"

"Tell that to my dead fazher!" Fasco screamed, his accent coming out with his rage.

Reynard swallowed. There was utter silence.

"So zhat's all this is for? Revenge? One predator killed your fazher and now Alimand will pay for it!"

"Shut up!" Fasco yelled. He was tired of all the talk. "I've had enough of you! Give me the night howler gun."

The raccoon's eyes widened at the mention of the term.

"If I can't take the serum...the least I can do is take _you._ "

A guard brought him the same briefcase he had used not minutes earlier on his wife and Clare. Calmly, he unbuckled the clips, pulling out the gun. He took one of the blue pellets, and loaded it in.

Reynard swallowed, getting ready to release the vial as soon as Fasco shot. He wondered what it would be like to go savage. Fasco pointed the gun at him, finger on the trigger.

"STOP!" a shrill voice yelled out from behind the guards, near the door. Everyone turned to face the young doe and two officers that had just stepped onto the roof. "Leave him alone!"

"Rory no!" Reynard cried out, instantly recognizing her voice.

Fasco lowered the gun, looking back and forth between the raccoon and doe. He let out a sly chuckle. "Well, this just got interesting." He placed the gun back in the briefcase. "Get her," he ordered calmly. The guards did as he ordered, running over towards Fangmire and Delgato. The officers backed up, trying to prevent the oncoming horde from getting to the young doe. Delgato took out his tranquilizer, firing a dart at a rhino, who swiftly dodged to the side. A smile crept across the rhino's face, who swung at the officer who ducked to avoid the throw. Delgato threw all of his weight into a punch that landed squarely on the rhino's face. The guard hardly flinched, grabbing Delgato and pinning him into the ground with his larger body. Fangmire wasn't faring much better. He had been trying to combat two guards at once to no avail, having followed the same fate as Delgato. With both officers' faces in the cement, Rory had no defense left. The guards picked her up and brought her towards Fasco.

"Mmm...and what marvelous timing, as well. Here comes the helicopter for the extraction," the koala grinned.

"Fasco please!" Reynard begged, on the verge of tears. He could take whatever punishment Fasco had lined up for him. But he couldn't stand to see him so much as lay a finger on Rory.

"Oh, the sweet sound of enemies begging for mercy," Fasco replied chillingly. "What was that you said again? 'You will never do what you intend.'"

"Put me down, you scrubs!" Rory yelled, squirming and kicking as the guards lifted her into the air.

"Please, just let her go!" he pleaded. The helicopter was coming closer and closer to the building, ready to pick up whoever was ready to leave.

"Oh, if only there were something I really wanted from you," Fasco said facetiously. "So, Reynard, what will it be?"

"I...I..." he looked back and forth between the vial and Rory.

"Mmm...such a tough choice, isn't it? The poor little doe, or the thousands back home who you want to save."

Reynard felt a tear roll down his cheek. The helicopter was now landing mere feet away from them.

"Speechless, go figure," Fasco again chastized the raccoon. "Let me make this real simple for you. Give me the serum, or you never see Rory again."

Reynard looked at the serum for a few hard seconds. He turned to Fasco, who was only a few steps away. Slowly, he began to walk away from the edge.

"You'll let us bozh go free?"

"Yes. Completely unharmed."

Reynard looked deep into Fasco's eyes. He had no idea whether or not he would keep his word. But as soon as Rory was in the equation, he knew he never really had a choice.

He took another step forward, and extended the vial forwards. Fasco calmly took it into his paw.

"Zetera, dziepow," Fasco said in Alimandish. _The doe, drop her._

A wave of relief fell over Reynard as he watched the guards release Rory.

Fasco let out a maniacal laugh as he boarded the helicopter with the serum. "Palarek! Sop delarouz!" _Guards, come with me!_

The guards immediately got off of Delgato and Fangmire, all of them fleeing to the helicopter.

Reynard and Rory ran across the roof to each other. The raccoon dropped to his knees, both mammals shedding tears as they embraced in warmth.

"You're safe now," Reynard promised, voice muted somewhat by the loudness of the helicopter. "It's okay."

"So long, fools!" Fasco yelled as the helicopter door closed. The propellers began to spin faster and faster, causing the vehicle to rise steadily into the air. Rory and Reynard continued to embrace, so desperately indulging in the security they had been longing for. The helicopter flew away, heading off into the distance, leaving only the four mammals left on the roof.

The door suddenly flew open, revealing Chief Bogo and a squad of five or so officers.

"Where's Fasco?" Bogo demanded, eyes searching the roof. His expression sunk, noticing that there was no trace of the koala. "ARGH! We were too late!" Bogo cursed.

"It's okay, sir," one of the officers behind him encouraged. "We've alerted INTERPAW and the local police force and they have ready to catch him as soon as he lands in Alimand."

"I don't care if they catch him!" Bogo yelled. "He has a serum that has the potential to sedate millions of mammals! You don't think he's going to try to drop it or pass it off somehow?"

Rory and Reynard were trying to contain their snickers, looking at each other as they listened to the chief. Bogo suddenly whirled around, staring at the two mammals.

"What is so funny?" he questioned furiously. "Do you think this is some kind of joke? Is that what this is to you?"

Rory and Reynard started laughing harder, Reynard shedding a tear from laughing so hard.

"Should we tell them?" Rory asked, looking at the raccoon.

"Tell us what?" Fangmire asked.

"Fasco doesn't have zhe serum," Reynard blurted out, wiping the tear from his eye.

The officers all exchanged confused glances.

"But we saw you hand him the vial!" Delgato said.

"Oh, that?" Rory replied, grinning uncontrollably. "That was some soap we found in the bathroom. We dumped out the real serum once we realized we could use the soap instead."

"So...all of that...that was all acting?" Delgato asked as a follow up.

"Well...not all of it," Reynard admitted. He had legitimately been scared for Rory, as that hadn't been part of their original plan.

"Hope you enjoyed the show," Rory exclaimed. "I also got this," she held up the carrot pen, earning confused looks all around. "It records audio," she explained. The doe pressed the playback button, Fasco's voice coming through the pen loudly. " _Predators are nothing more than overly aggressive beasts. The are best used as pawns, mere instruments for those who have greater mental capabilities!"_

The officers all laughed, the Chief even showing a slight smile.

"And I thought Delgato was crazy," Fangmire joked, earning a punch in the arm from his partner.

"Well done, you two," Bogo congratulated them. "You can consider me impressed."

"It was all Rory's idea," Reynard admitted. "She was zhe real hero today."

"She's the one who saved Hopps and Wilde," Fangmire added. "Without her..." there was a pause as the implication set in, "...things would be very different."

"Nick and Judy!" Rory suddenly blurted out, remembering her two friends. "They're hurt! I need to-"

"Hopps and Wilde are just fine," Bogo assured her. "They're on their way to the hospital as we speak."

"I need to see them," Rory pressed.

"Of course," the chief agreed. "Fangmire, Delgato! Take these two to the hospital. We'll finish up here soon."

The officers nodded. Reynard and Rory made their way towards the door. They began to walk down the stairs together, the raccoon and doe smiling at each other as relief overcame them. They had done it. Not Nick, not Judy, but _they_ had done it. They climbed into the police cruiser and began on their way to the hospital.

* * *

The bunny sat down on the wooden bench, her ears drooping as she stared downward at the square tiles of the hospital floor. She was consumed with worry, her small frame collapsed in on itself in despair.

"Judy!" a voice caught her attention, ears shooting up in the direction of the noise. She looked to see Rory and Reynard walking (or, in Rory's case, running) down the hallway towards her. She stood up from the bench, smiling as the doe ran into her and embraced her.

"Rory, Reynard!" Judy remarked. "It's so nice to see you two."

"We were really worried about you two," Reynard admitted. "We came as quickly as we could."

"I heard what you guys did," the bunny replied. "I'm so proud of both of you."

"Where's Nick?" Rory asked, her favorite fox nowhere in sight. Her face sunk. "He's...he's not..."

"No," Judy replied, swallowing heavily as her ears drooped again. "He's going to be fine...it's just..."

"What happened?" Reynard interrupted, his face now showing great concern.

"Fasco made Clare go savage on us and...and... she almost..." Judy stumbled on the words, "killed him."

There was a pause.

"She...hurt him a lot," Judy admitted, looking downward at her shuffling feet as a coping mechanism. "He has a couple of bruised ribs...and a huge gash across his face...and eye," the bunny began to cry, the tears wetting and warming her face. Reynard moved his paw onto her shoulder, trying his best to comfort her. She sniffled. "The damage she did to his right eye is too severe for them to fix," she forced the words out, trying not to show how shattered she was. "They're going to remove it."

Rory and Reynard frowned at each other. Judy's face sunk into her paws, the crying increasing in intensity.

"Judy...I..." Reynard tried to find the words to comfort her. "I'm so sorry."

"It's just..." she said as she wiped her face, "What if he can't be my partner anymore? What am I going to do?"

"Don't worry about zhat," Reynard told her. "You two are going to be friends no matter what happens, even if you aren't working togezher."

"Everything will be okay," Rory offered, hugging the bunny again. They released after a moment, and the three mammals sat back down on the bench. They sat there for a solid hour, all three worried but trying to cheer each other up with jokes and happy stories.

After another ten to twenty minutes, the door suddenly opened, an otter nurse walking out. "Miss Hopps?" she said. Judy stood up eagerly.

"That's me. Can I...?"

"Yes, you can go in and see him now," the nurse replied.

The three mammals rushed into the room, eager to check up on their fox. Nick was lying there on the hospital bed, his lone eye closed and the other socket covered by an eyepatch. He had an IV in his arm, with his vitals being closely monitored. A partially sealed gash seemed to run underneath his eyepatch, bearing the mark of the claws that had dug into him.

"Nick," Judy timidly said, not wanting to wake him if he was sleeping.

His eye slowly fluttered open. A smile crept across his face as he saw his partner. "Carrots!" he exclaimed, chuckling.

"Oh, Nick," Judy leaned over the bed and hugged him as the tears began to flow again, the fox accepting the embrace. "How are you feeling?"

"Well," he sighed, "if there ever was an I in team, it's not there anymore."

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers you're okay," Judy said in a breath of relief. She hugged the fox tighter.

"Ribs, RIBS," Nick reminded her as he grimaced in pain, causing her to slightly release.

"Sorry," she apologized. "How...how does it feel?"

"What, the whole one eye thing?" Nick asked. Judy nodded. "Well, it still hurts and feels a little weird. But I think I'll get used to it."

"Your eyepatch looks cool," Rory commented.

"It does, doesn't it?" Nick replied. "It'll look even cooler once this claw mark thing scars. I'll look like some crazy super villain."

Reynard smiled. "I still can't believe you're so...okay..." he tried to find a way to put it without risking offense, "wizh all of zhis."

Nick sighed. "Really...things should have been a lot worse," he swallowed, repeating what he had said again. "A...a lot worse."

He hadn't stopped thinking over what had happened for an instant in the time since he and Judy had escaped. Over and over again he played through what he had Judy had done in the moment. Over and over again, he tweaked small things they had done, running through the scenario to see if there would be a different outcome. But realistically, losing an eye, he found, was one of the better case scenarios.

"I'm just happy...that...that we're both alive," Nick admitted as he stared at his partner. The bunny looked back at him, tears welling up in her eyes. The room seemed to suddenly have a chill fall over it, only the beeping of the medical equipment serving to deter the oncoming silence. Nick swallowed heavily again. "Could...could I have some time alone with Judy please?"

Reynard nodded, leading Rory out of the room with him. "Hang in zhere," he encouraged.

Nick waved as much as he could with his broken body, smiling as they left the room. The door shut, leaving only the fox, the rabbit and the medical equipment.

Judy looked down at the ground, her ears drooping. "Nick...are you..." she paused. "Are you _really_ okay?"

The fox looked ahead of him with his one eye, not replying for a moment. After a few seconds, he finally replied.

"What other choice do I have?"

The words were soft and came out calmly. Yet they somehow managed to be simultaneously heavy, the shoulders of both mammals sinking.

"Nick..." Judy muttered. She had no response. He was right. This was all the fault of circumstance, and it wasn't like he could change those previous circumstances now. Judy let out something halfway between a sigh and a whimper, knowing that he was right. They both had been trying their best to perform their jobs and do what was best for the world. And if something like this happened, then that was that. Being angry accomplished nothing, which meant that their only option was to grin and bear what hand life had dealt them.

"Do you think that..."

"I don't know," Nick interjected. He was just as worried as she was that he might no longer be able to participate as part of the police force. "I haven't really gotten the chance to see how much _this,"_ he gestured to his eye patch, "is going to affect how I go about things," he explained. "Either way...I know I'll be taken care of...and somehow I think that'll make things okay."

Judy exhaled slightly in relief. It was only minutes after the surgery, but already she already admired the fox's new perspective. "You dumb fox," she said, shaking her head. "You're going to make me go gray way too quickly."

"Silly Carrots," Nick replied, "don't you see that you're already gray?"

She smirked. "I guess I walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Yes," he told her, his muzzle shaping into a grin. "Yes you did."

"You know one of these days I'll stop giving you easy setups," Judy responded.

"No you won't," Nick retorted. "I know you love my jokes. If you didn't, you would have stopped giving me material, because, in spite of the stereotypes surrounding your species, you are smart enough to keep me from ever making fun of you if you really wanted."

Judy sighed. "Fine, you got me, you got me," she smiled, putting her hands up in jest. "Even with all of your jokes, you manage to be somewhat enjoyable to spend time around."

"I'll take it," Nick smiled, staring at his partner.

 _There's nothing like almost losing someone to make you realize how much you need them,_ Nick thought. At the end of the day, he was still lucky. And he vowed to never forget that.

* * *

Reynard closed the door to the room as Rory walked out with him, giving the two partners their privacy. The two mammals returned to the bench where they had been waiting previously, sitting next to one another.

The raccoon looked down at the doe, smiling slightly as she kicked her legs that didn't quite touch the ground. He had grown quite fond of her over the past few days, the whole ordeal involving Fasco serving as the crowning moment. It had been easy to forget reality over these past few days, the investigation giving them reason to completely disregard what had been going on in their lives before. It had undoubtedly changed them both for the better. It was impossible for them to list or even quantify and vivify everything they had learned.

But now, sitting in the hospital, reality was slowly beginning to wane its way back into existence. Reynard's smile slowly began to fade. His cafe was still in shambles. And though the memories he had lost didn't quite hurt as much they had before, he still felt a sense of impending dread overcoming him at the thought of going back. At least he had the prize money, which would help in allowing him to properly rebuild.

He pulled the picture of his parents on their wedding day from the pocket of his jacket, along with the red bowtie Nick had given him. It was a perfect match for the one he wore in the slightly charred picture. Reynard sighed, letting out a slight sigh. The pain was still there, but it was muted now. He could deal with it.

"Who's that?" Rory asked, looking over the raccoon's shoulder.

Caught off guard, Reynard stumbled to answer. "Zhese two?" he said, "Zhey...zhey're my parents."

"That's a big dress," Rory commented, pointing at Reynard's mother. "It looks uncomfortable."

Reynard raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say zhat?"

"All dresses are uncomfortable," Rory replied, shaking her head. "But that one looks really big and annoying."

"Well, it's her wedding dress," he explained. He swallowed. "Zhis...zhis is zhe only picture I have left of zhem."

Rory was quiet for a moment. Reynard felt bad now. He knew her parental situation was arguably worse than his was, as she had never even known her parents. He had probably just reminded her of them, which made him feel somewhat guilty. He was about to say something when, to his surprise, Rory piped up.

"Were...were they good parents?" she asked.

Reynard was taken aback for a moment, unsure how to answer such an imposing question. "Yes," he started, "zhey were zhe best I've seen."

Rory looked down at the hospital tile, continuing to kick absentmindedly. "What were they like?"

Reynard sighed. "Well," he said, "dad was a huge goofball who really cared about both my mom and I. He was always trying to make us both laugh. And mom...mom was the smartest raccoon you've ever met. She was always reading and learning and teaching me things, even though she herself was incredibly busy."

Rory looked back up at the raccoon, the kicking stopping.

"I want something like that."

The world seemed to fall silent, in spite of the nurses going by and loud noises coming from the patient rooms. Reynard's heart seemed to stop. Was...was she asking what he thought she was? The thought had fleetingly entered Reynard's mind at one point, but he had never seriously considered it.

Well, maybe now was a good time to think about it. The prize money was more than enough to not only get back on his feet but to also find a way to financially support her. She would need a tutor to catch up on the missed schooling she had been deprived of. But those things were all things that could be taken care of. Which meant there was only one question left to ask.

Did Reynard want a child?

The more he thought about it...the more he found himself answering yes. He had always envisioned himself raising a family. Passing on the best parts of him had always seemed appealing. Empowering someone else to do as much good as they could for the world was something he valued greatly and made him happy, and in the capacity of a parent he had the most influential way of doing so.

He looked down at the doe again. To say he didn't care for her would be a lie. To say he didn't want the best for her would be equally untrue.

 _Yes_ , he thought. _I can't think of something that would make me happier._

"Rory," Reynard started, smiling. "What would you zhink of...becoming family?"

The doe's ears suddenly perked up, her once disheartened eyes now suddenly entirely alive. "You...you mean..."

"Yes," he replied, unable to contain his smile. "Rory, I want to adopt you."

The doe squealed with excitement. She stood up and jumped onto the raccoon, hugging him. Liquid began to pool in her eyes, her boundless exuberance bubbling over into tears.

"Yes," she cried happily, arms wrapped around Reynard's neck. "yes."

They sat there on the bench, the doe and raccoon hugging each other in a state of pure elation.

"I love you," Reynard told her, stroking the fur on top of her head.

"I love you too," she said. She paused. "Dad."

Reynard smiled. He looked one more time at the picture of his parents. He only hoped he could be half as good of a parent to Rory as they had been to him. Somewhere, somehow, he knew that they were watching him, proud of what they had given to the world. Reynard sighed. At the end of the day, he was pretty lucky. And he vowed that he would never forget that.

* * *

The camera flashed, taking a picture that was going to end up on the nightly news site later that night.

"Welcome everyone," a raccoon said as he got up in front of the crowd of forty or so mammals with a microphone, wearing a nice vest and a sparkling red bowtie. A deer stood beside him on one side, wearing matching attire and on the other side were two of his closest friends, a small bunny and a fox, who happened to be wearing an eyepatch. "I'm happy zhat you've all gathered here today, exactly zhree monzhs after Frederick Fasco's capture, to celebrate wizh me and all of zhose who have helped to make zhis night a possibility. Tonight, we are here to celebrate new beginnings. But first, I would like to say a couple of words," Reynard cleared his throat, taking a brief pause. "Over zhe past few months, I have learned a lot of zhings. I have learned all about zhe citizenship process and how to catch wanted criminals. I have learned what is needed to adopt a child, and how to properly shoot a tranquilizer gun. (One of zhose zhings is really easy, but I'll let you guess which.) I have done zhings I would never expect to have done, and seen things I never dreamed of seeing. But in all of zhis noise, all of zhis chaos zhat my life has been ever since Fasco entered it, zhere as been one zhing zhat I hold above all else as zhe most important thing I've learned," he paused, letting the audience entertain their thoughts. "Zhere is only one zhing zhat we all have in common: we are all mammals. And yes, while zhis is not new information, I've found it to be zhe most important piece of information zhat we can hope to entirely understand. Regardless of zhe details surrounding zhose around us - whezher we have known zhem for years or minutes, whezher zhey are interested in zhe same zhings as us or not, whezher zhey are predator or prey, whezher zhey are Zootopian or Alimandish- I know we can find true unity. A unity, where, instead of seeing only what is different in zhose around us, we see what is zhe same. A unity, where, in a world dominated by labels, we can see zhe one true label we all have in common. Zhe label of mammal," the raccoon paused again, a smile creeping across his face. "It is now, wizhout furzher adieu, zhat I would like to address zhe reason you have all come here tonight."

A sheep passed a pair of scissors to Rory, who happily accepted them.

"Rory will be doing zhe honors," he explained. The doe moved towards the door, holding the scissors open over the ribbon that hung across the entrance way. She clamped down on on the scissors, cutting the ribbon and causing everyone to clap.

"Welcome, everyone, to zhe Red Bowtie Bistro!" Reynard announced. Cheering ensued, as the mammals began to file into the restaurant. Rory and Reynard smiled at each other, shaking hands of everyone as they entered. Once the crowd had all entered, two familiar faces walked up to the doe and raccoon.

"That was a great speech, Reynard," Judy congratulated him. "I'm so happy for the both of you."

"Quite the crowd, eh?" Nick commented, smirking. "Being famous will do that, you know."

"It's going to be a lot of work to feed zhem all," Reynard admitted. "Fortunately, I have Rory, and I was able to get some additional help. We should be fine."

"I'm sure it will be great," Judy replied. They had largely gone their separate ways after Fasco had been apprehended, the opening of the restaurant really being their first chance to see each other again. Nick was still healing from his rib injury, meaning he hadn't been allowed to work with Judy on the most intense cases. The biggest worry they had - that Nick's eye might prevent him permanently from partnering with Judy - was still there, as his ribs had prevented him from actually being reexamined for the position. Still, the fox and bunny remained optimistic. So far, Nick had adapted rather well to his impairment, which would seem to bode well for him in the future.

"Well, I hope you guys enjoy it," Reynard said, ushering them inside. He was just about ready to close the doors finally, all the guests having arrived.

"Wait," Rory interrupted, "who's that?"

She pointed, the other three mammals all turning their heads. Walking towards the door was a gray bunny, distinguished by the black stripes which ran horizontally across the outermost portions of his face and at the tips of his ears. He was incredibly well dressed, wearing a clearly expensive tuxedo with a white button up and skinny black tie.

"Malshe, shay da la ron," he introduced himself, extending his paw to Reynard. _Evening, nice to meet you._

Reynard smiled, accepting the rabbit's invitation. "And who might you be?" he replied in Alimandish.

"The name's Jack Savage," he said, this time in Zootopian. "But call me Jack please."

He shook paws with the rest of the mammals.

"Well then, let me get straight to the point," he said, clapping his paws together. "I'm an agent for INTERPAW," he promptly explained, pulling a badge out of his tux. Nick and Judy looked at each other in bewilderment, but Rory and Reynard looked confused. "We're the top international police and spy force in the world," Jack told them.

"How didn't I know this?" Reynard asked.

"Most people never hear about us even when we do solve cases," he shrugged, presumably having heard the question before. "If people knew what we stopped...well, let's just say there would be a bit of a mass panic."

"So...what are you doing here?" Judy asked. "There's gotta be something important."

Jack smiled. "You could say that."

The four mammals all looked at one another in anticipation.

"You see...INTERPAW is doing some recruiting," Jack told them. "Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, how would you like to become part of the most elite police force in the world?"

* * *

 **It's a wrap! The story is now finished, aside from an epilogue that I'm going to write. I hope you all enjoyed, and as always, please send feedback letting me know what you think of my writing and ways I can improve and critiques you may have. Thanks for reading, really. I appreciate all of the people who have cared enough to make it this far, you guys rock. 3**


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